Shadows of Konoha
by LovePeppermint
Summary: Sasuke is the guy who has it all, everything one could wish for. Naruto is an orphan living in a sugar coated hell. What happens when Sasuke starts volunteering at his orphanage?And what will his friends think? The superstitiuous citizens of Konoha have after all not forgotten that fateful day 15 years ago.
1. Chapter 1

This is an AU fic with a high school setting. Read to find out more mohahhaa :D

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto :/ …. *sob*

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Konoha wasn't a big town, nor was it a small one. Visitors called it cosy and close to nature, influenced by the vast amount of trees and other growth. The weather was generally good, people sometimes said that the sun seemed to favour the town. But with a bright light comes a dark shadow... And Konoha was more than the paradise perceived by outsiders. And one mustn't assume that rainy times did not come. For some, it seemed that life was always shaded by dark clouds.

In a tranquil part of town was an amiable orphanage built of stone. The exterior was in a warm creamy colour and the sign "Konoha Haven" hung in a cute and quirky font with walnut letters above the large mahogany front door.

A blonde teenager clad in a black school uniform exited through the wooden doors and squinted as the bright morning sun struck his big azure eyes. A nametag on his chest revealed him to be Naruto. With a sigh he ran a hand through his messy hair and continued his walk to school at this early hour. It was still roughly six am. At his side the slender boy had an orange bag that looked like it had seen its best days some time ago. It had become tattered and worn. The colour had faded from its once bright nuance to a dull one. The streets were quiet. The teen was appreciative of that. He preferred walking in peace, and on mornings like these when people were scarce, the half hour walk to school felt pleasantly serene. The distance between the orphanage and his school, Konoha Academy, was mostly through a bit of leafy forest. Naruto had one day discovered that lovely footpath during one of his adventures. It took ten minutes longer to reach the school that way but he had always appreciated nature and preferred this serene alternative. And so he treaded the soft earthy trail. Onwards toward another boorish week.

Sasuke knocked on the teacher's office. It was the end of the school day and he was supposed to report something to his homeroom teacher.

"Come in" Kakashi's lazy voice was heard from the other side of the door. Sasuke did just that.

"Did you find a place to volunteer, Sasuke?" He asked the teen while reading in an orange pocket-book. Sasuke smirked.

"Of course I did, I wouldn't be class president if I couldn't now would I?" He replied. He had decided to volunteer somewhere to improve the look of his application for university. Not that it looked bad as it was, he had top grades, was class president and held the prestigious name of Uchiha. Sasuke just needed it to reach perfection. If he kept this up, any university would be dying to have him.

"Good, good" Kakashi said absentmindedly while his one visible eye travelled the pages with delight. Sasuke snorted and rose to leave.

"You shouldn't read porn in school, you know" He said and left his odd teacher. He really looked like a creep of some sort. A mask covered the lower part of his face and he wore an eye patch over his left eye. Did he want to mimic a pirate or something? Sasuke figured it was best not to bother too much with his peculiarities. As Sasuke passed through the school yard his loud friend Kiba called out to him.

"Sasuke! We were planning to hang out at my place after school, care to come?" The cheeky brunet asked with a grin. Sasuke smirked.

"I have plans, sorry. I'll join some other day" By that he waved and entered his car which was driven by his chauffeur.

After roughly ten minutes he arrived at his destination. 'Konoha Haven' he read on the sign. The place looked nice. It wasn't huge or modern, but it looked neat and well-kept. The garden was not too bad either. This was Sasuke's first time visiting the place as the arrangements of him volunteering had been done by phone. He opened the Thick mahogany door and decided that the interior of the house was quite agreeable as well. It did look relaxing and rustic, creating a comforting and homey atmosphere. Very fitting for a facility in Konoha, making use of the area's rich supply of wood. Sasuke walked up to the small reception.

"Hello, I am Uchiha Sasuke, the new volunteer" He stated. The receptionist warmly smiled at him.

"Welcome to Konoha Haven" She said after which she brought him to the rest of the staff to introduce him. In the end, it was somehow arranged for him to help out in the kitchen. Sasuke was happy for that escape because the children running around were starting to annoy him.

"Oh my, you are really good at this" Petunia, one of the workers, praised as Sasuke was cooking.

"I have some experience in cooking" He answer. He smirked inwardly at his modesty. It was more than just some. He had learned a lot from his mother because as an Uchiha was to be perfect... at everything. When the food was ready he helped the ladies serve the many hungry kids. He was interrupted when Dolores, or Dolly as most of the other workers called her, tugged his sleeve. Dolly was a bit younger than the other workers and had only recently turned 20. Sasuke frowned in confusion at her uncomfortable look.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you but... Could you please carry this tray to room thirteen?" The dark blonde asked him as she gestured to a tray of food. Sasuke said that of course he can do it. He knew that it was important to be friendly and approachable to get a good impression at a place like this, full of warm and kind people. He took the tray and walked through the corridors. He briefly wondered of the child in that room was ill or something and therefore unable to eat with the rest of the kids. Shrugging it off he knocked on the wooden door that was marked with the number 13. Shortly after, it opened revealing a messy haired blond with big azure eyes. He was about a head shorter than Sasuke and was wearing an orange tank with black sweat shorts. Sasuke saw the eyes widen at the sight of him. He cleared his throat.

"Your dinner" He said and pushed the tray forward. He felt caught of guard, he hadn't expected that someone close to his own age would open. Teens seemed scarce at this facility. Maybe they were all just cooped up in their rooms? Blue eyes looked down at thetray of food then back up at him again in even greater confusion. Sasuke felt awkward, which rarely happened.

"I'm a new volunteer" He blurted in explanation. The kid was probably confused because he had expected one of the women.. Dolly or someone, not another teen. Sasuke was interrupted from his train of thought when the door suddenly slammed shut, causing some food to spill on his shirt. Sasuke glared at the door. What the heck was that kids problem? How ungrateful to refuse the kindness of an Uchiha. With a sour face he returned to the staff. They gasped at the state of him. Dolly quickly sprang up from her chair quickly and attempted to wipe the stain with a napkin.

"Oh I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have sent you to him... I thought you would be alright as you're a strong boy but.. Oh geez... Anyhow, you can return home early for now to clean up." She rambled with guilt written in her face. Sasuke forced a smile.

"Don't apologize." He assured that he wasn't angry, well at least he wasn't angry at _her_. "I will see you tomorrow then he said and waved his goodbyes. The staff said their goodbyes in return. Well in his car Sasuk frowned. Sometimes it was mentally taxing trying to be a pleasant person. But it was all for the sake of his future. It was also his duty as an Uchiha. An Uchiha was always flawless. Especially Sasuke's older brother was proof of that. He was probably the perfect human. Sasuke's frown deepened as he glared at the window. Sometimes all he wanted was to defeat him and overcome that great wall. His thoughts wandered back to the brat that had shoved the door on him. He had looked familiar. Sasuke began to feel as if he had seen him at school. Sasuke decided that he would need to meet him and educate him on how to behave toward Uchiha Sasuke. Maybe it was jealosy that had cause the blonde's rudeness? Sasuke pondered. He did after all have anything a person could wish for. Family, friends, looks, intelligence, money. It was certainly not odd that he was jealous. Especially considering that he was an orphan. Sasuke concluded that it really must have been jealousy.

Meanwhile, at the Haven.

"Naruto, you infernal child. Open your door this instant." The strictest of the workers at the orphanage ordered with a cold voice. She was the highest in rank and no one dared to oppose her. Naruto sat on the other side of the door. He still couldn't believe that Sasuke had stood at his door. And he was volunteering? What a joke. As if he was a caring person. Naruto had never talked to him but he had been around once or twice when Kiba decided it would be fun to shove him against the lockers. Naruto shut his eyes and let out a shaky breath. He didn't want anyone from school showing up here. This was his room. _His_ room. Here, he was supposed to be free from the idiots over there. And now the top matron was angry with him. Naruto moved away from the door to escape the loud banging. He sighed tiredly and laid down on his bed. Soon the matron would get the keys anyways. 'Fuck...' he muttered silently and lay down on his bed. he covered his eyes with his arm as tears stung them slightly. Being treated like this still hurt. As if he was... dirt. He clenched his fist in frustration. The fading light of the sunset dully lit up the dreary room. His light bulb broke a while ago... He needed to fix it sometime soon. With a sad smile he listened as the lock clicked open. The floor creaked eerily as the matron entered the room. The noise was suddenly replaced by a chilling silence.

"You actually dared to be rude towards that handsome young man. Have a limit to your insolence!" She bitterly spat before she rapped his legs with a stick. Naruto flinched already at the swishing sound of it. He bit his lip. He didn't want to show his pain. She would just interpret such an action as him saying that she was being unfair. A way of saying that he felt as if he did not deserve the beating. No... It was better to be compliant and let her punish him. He didn't want to egg her on further. He knew that she really hated him. He had seen her eyes once as she swung at him when he was younger. They were colder than ice and pierced his heart. She felt no guilt when she hit him. He could tell that she really felt that he deserved this treatment. And maybe he really did... Naruto just didn't know anymore. Helpless as he bit back the pain.

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**Authors note... **

Well this is the first fanfiction I'm writing... Feel free to butcher me if you want, any criticism is better than nothing. Hope it wasn't too boring? My story will get more exciting, promise ;). I'm starving for reviews by the way!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again! This is chapter two of Shadows of Konoha, a name I thought of on a whim but I guess is kind of nice... And just a little heads-up... The rating might go up later. So beware!

It also seems like I have gained a few followers... and favorites... AND reviews! Thank you so much for appreciating my work so far. :D To repay you I will do my best to entertain you with this story. I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter as well.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto :P

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The students in the cafeteria were so loud. Sasuke got annoyed by this every day at school. He briefly thought that the school should fix a VIP cafeteria he could sit in. He was after all a very important person. And he was prone to headaches. Sasuke inwardly snorted and looked around the table at his friends. They were talking, and talking... But he managed to tolerated them.

"Sasuke, Ino and I were planning on going to the cinema later... Do you want to come?" Sasuke looked to his left to meet the hopeful green eyes of his pink haired friend Sakura. Normally he would advice against colouring one's hair pink, but it actually didn't look too bad on Sakura. Her hair was long and luscious, just how he liked it.

"I can't, don't have time" Sasuke flatly answered. He had volunteering to do today. He heard a disappointed sigh from Ino. Ino was Sakura's best friend. She had blue eyes and, like Sakura, long luscious hair. Just how he liked it. And, Sasuke knew for a fact that they kept their hair long just for him. He wondered briefly if his brother Itachi also had that effect on girls. Or was Sasuke superior in this area? He looked up to his brother and respected him, but in spite of that (or maybe because of that) it always been his goal to win over him.

"That's too bad... We were really looking forward to your company" Sakura pouted. Though in her mind she was boiling with anger. Why didn't Sasuke have time? She wondered. What if he had a date? She exchanged looks with Ino, signaling that they would need a meeting later. You see, they were best friends but they were also rivals. They were both in love with Sasuke, so naturally, they decided to compete. Who could become his lover first? But that also meant that they would cooperate to get rid of any other competitors. And they were many. One could say that Sasuke was _quite_ popilaur. Kiba, who was sitting opposite Sasuke gulped at the girls. They looked menacing.

"Hey, Neji... Girls are scary sometimes, aren't they?" He whispered to Neji who sat next to him. Neji had long black hair, but that didn't make him look any less manly. He was still tall and had some soft masculine features on his pale face.

"No they are not" He answered matter-of-factly. "And besides, girls are to be protected by us. How do you expect to protect them if you are afraid of them Kiba? You need to stop being such a coward." He added sharply. Kiba momentarily didn't know what to answer to that. He did not see that coming. He had just asked Neji a casual question and got _that_ in return.

"You...! Agh, why do I even bother?!" Kiba started laughing. Neji was a bit quirky. He took erything too seriously, and he could never get a joke. Even Sasuke smirked at this. Lunch time wasn't so bad after all. But it was still annoying to be in this loud mess.

...

Naruto looked at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was always so wild and impossible to tame. He wondered if he got that from his mother or father. He had no memory of either of them. Who gave him these blue eyes? Naruto sighed. He had been in the orphanage ever since he was a baby, thus had no clue. He didn't even know if his parents were still alive somewhere... Nothing. He turned to the door of the men's room as he heard it swing open. He rolled his eyes when he noticed it was Kiba. That buffoon. Kiba, in return, saw that Naruto was there. He let out a chuckle.

"Well if it isn't Naruto the idiot." He mockingly said. Naruto made to leave when he saw that Sasuke had also entered. He locked eyes with Naruto.

"You..." Sasuke started when Kiba roughly grabbed Naruto's arm and shoved him harshly against the white tiled wall. Sasuke was immediately surprised. Though Kiba was quite hot-tempered, Sasuke had never seen him this hostile. That brat must've done something rude to him too.

"I'm pretty sure I said that you don't need to come back here the last time we spoke" Kiba growled. Naruto glared back at him. Then he changed his expression to an amused one.

"Was that when I told you that you smell like manure?" He smirked. Kiba grabbed his collar. Naruto snickered.

"I take it you looked it up?" He asked almost innocently. Kiba reddened. He remembered last time. He hadn't known what manure meant. His vocabulary wasn't exactly his strong point. Before the situation escalated further Sasuke interrupted by clearing his throat. That was enough to make Kiba remember that he was in the presence of the class president. Sure, they were buddies... But Sasuke took his duties seriously. He reluctantly released Naruto from his grip. Sasuke approached them. He took a second to read Naruto's name tag. The tag also supplied information on the grade one was in. A first year huh.. Sasuke thought to himself. What a cheeky bastard.

"Kiba" he said after giving Naruto a scrutinising look. Kiba looked at him. Sasuke smirked.

"I believe you were in the process of disciplining an underclassman. Please, feel free to continue" Sasuke said smoothly with an amused look on his face. Kiba grinned at him.

"I can't refuse the class president, now can I?" He grinned back at Sasuke. Naruto looked from one upperclassman to the other. He sighed. The situation was hopeless. He laughed bitterly in his mind. At least he would have a lesson with his favourite teacher after this. He hissed at the sudden impact of Kiba's fist on his gut. That hurt actually. It did.

"You're not fighting back lately, Naruto" Kiba said as he hit him once more. Naruto clenthed his eyes shut. He thought back on his pervious self. He was louder and more obnoxious. Bitterly taking out his anger at the world. He did childish pranks such as graffiti. If somebody came at him he always fought back as hard as he could. But then he got closer to Iruka. Iruka was also a volunteer at the orphanage and had actually lived there for a while when he was younger. Naruto had promised Iruka not to fight anymore. And he wasn't about to break a promise to the one person that actually cared about him. Iruka was terribly important to Naruto. So all Naruto could do was take it. He fell to the cold floor when he lost his breath by a punch. He saw black shoes come closer. Naruto squinted up to see Sasuke. Sasuke looked down at Naruto. His breathing had become ragged and his lip was bleeding. Sasuke smirked. He felt a quite enjoyable surge of power inside himself.

"Don't be disrespectful to me again. Got it?" Sasuke asked with a tranquil, almost soft voice while he bent closer. Naruto glared in return. Sasuke smiled faintly. But Naruto could see that his onyx eyes hid both amusement and annoyance. Sasuke straightened his posture before giving Naruto a swift kick to Naruto's stomach. He let out a wince in pain. Sasuke walked away with a satisfied smirk, taking Kiba with him. Kiba, who just looked at his friend in bewilderment.

"I didn't peg you as the violent bully type, Mr. class president." Kiba teased as they walked to their classroom. Sasuke glanced at him.

"I was surprised by you as well. It seemed like it wasn't the first time you were violent on school grounds" Sasuke countered in his class president voice, the one he used when he needed to reprimand some poor chap.

"...Did he do something to piss you off, Sasuke?" Kiba asked with a more serious tone. Sasuke didn't seem like the type who kicked someone jsut for the heck of it. Kiba himself really didn't like Naruto. He had heard some really freakish rumors about him... He shrugged off that thought.

"Hn" Sasuke started. Kiba hadn't heard that in a while. When they were just starting to be friends (and that had taken mighty effort) Sasuke was very scarce with words and didn't really say a lot. But gradually that changed thanks to the persistance of his friends.

Their conversation sadly ended short as their math teacher, Kakashi, entered the room. This confused almost everybody because he was on time, but he was as a rule always late. Yet, he started his lesson like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Sasuke frowned when he looked at him. That pirate look was really getting embarrassing.

...

Meanwhile, Naruto carefully managed to put himself in a sitting position. He noticed that he wasn't alone in the room. His eyes bulged. When the heck did he get in here? Naruto thought in surprise.

"Che, how troublesome" The drab voice of the person travelled the room. Naruto was right now looking at a guy in his class. Walking towards him. With a hairstyle that always brought Naruto's thoughts to pineapples. Frankly, he was at a loss of words. And he was sitting on the school's bathroom floor. The pineapple-err his name was Shikamaru if Naruto remembered correctly- extended a hand to him.

"D'ya think you can stand?" Shikamaru asked. The only thing that rivalled the bored tone of his voice was the look on his face. Though his expression had hints of annoyance in it. Probably because this was troublesome, Naruto concluded. He looked at the hand. He wanted to help? What? Naruto felt his confusion rise. Nevertheless, he reached out to him with a shaky hand. Naruto inwardly cursed at his own shaking. So uncool. Shikamaru pulled him up to a standing position. Naruto's eyes shone with amazement when he looked at Shikamaru.

"Th-Thank you" Naruto stumbled out with a smile quickly growing on his lips. Shikamaru shrugged.

"No need to thank me." Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome bastards" He then muttered. Naruto tried to contain his smile. He didn't want to look like a complete dork.

"Wait a sec" Shikamaru said and opened one of the stall doors. Naruto pulled a confused face when Shikamaru**threw a pack of cigarettes in the toilet.** This guy was a bit weird, but Naruto didn't mind. He had been kind to him after all. A throbbing near his ribs brought him back to reality. Damn, this _hurt_.

"Wanna go to class or to the nurse?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto paused. They were probably already late for class, but their English teacher wasn't the type to care... And he didn't really want to go to the nurse. She was a mean old lady who was always rude to him but gave candy to the other kids that went there. But at the same time, he was in pain... But he could endure. Probably.

"Let's go to class" He decided and flashed a smile at Shikamaru as he began walking to the best of his abilities. Shikamaru chuckled slightly. When you saw Naruto from afar he was all frowns and glares, but when you actually got close to him like this all he showed you was a goofy grin. Shikamaru's expression darkened when he thought about how he saw two second years exit the bathroom just before he got in. One of them was the class president... Why would he be involved in something troublesome like beating someone up? Shikamaru sighed at how easily a mind could be corrupted by power.

The classroom was lively and loud when they entered. They were probably working on some group assignment. Their English teacher, Jiraya, liked to give students work like that. It gave him more time to work on writing his novels.

"Oh. Naruto, Shikamaru. You PUNKS decided to come now?" Jiraya not so angrily glared as he hurriedly searched for the attendance sheet amongst his many scattered papers. One of them blew to Naruto's feet in the rush. Naruto winced at the pain of picking it up. Had it really been that necessary to kick him? He had already fallen down. Naruto growled silently. Then he accidentally caught a glance of the text on the paper he had picked up.

'-Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here? John asked as his fingers gently caressed Judy's soft, supple-' The paper was roughly pulled from Naruto's hands. He looked at Jiraya who gave him the 'ahaha, you-did-not-see-anything' look... The creep version. Naruto raised an eyebrow. As he had suspected for a while. This teacher really was a perv.

"Ahem... Naruto, you don't look too well, perhaps you should visit the nurse? Shikamaru, you should help him there. Go! "Jiraya said while trying to look innocent. It honestly looked freaky.

"Aren't you just saying that because you can't find the attendance sheet and can't mark us present? Shikamaru questioned. Jiraya frowned.

"There's no such thing. Now GO" He said before he shoved them out of the classroom and shut the door.

"What the heck?!" Naruto kicked the door as revenge. Oops, he thought. That was an old habit he was trying to get rid of. He had also promised Iruka that he would stop vandalising. Naruto was really trying to keep his promises. He hadn't even painted any graffiti in over a year.

"Man how troublesome." Shikamaru complained. All this because he wanted to throw away the cigarettes he had taken from Asuma, a teacher who was also his friend.

"Let's go, Naruto" Shikamaru said. Naruto nodded. Shikamaru could see the unwillingness written on his face. Shikamaru understood why. It wasn't like he himself was looking forward to going to that old hag either. Neither of them expected to see what they saw when they entered the nurse's office. It was not the old lady. But it was nonetheless a nurse, with brown eyes and long blonde hair put up in two pig tails. She gave them a kind smile when they entered.

"Hello there, I'm your new school nurse Tsunade." She introduced herself. Inwardly she cheered. They were boys. She had made a bet with her assistant Shizune that all boys who entered today would make some sort of lewd comment about her very large chest. She had unbuttoned a couple of buttons solely for this purpose. She loved gambling. Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Naruto wondered why she was staring at them so intently.

"A school nurse shouldn't dress so inappropriately." Shikamaru deadpanned. Tsunade froze. "I can even see your bra" Shikamaru added with a hint of distaste. But when Naruto glanced at him he saw a very, very faint blush on his cheeks. Tsunade inwardly cheered. He commented on her bra. That counted! Hah. Now all she needed was for this other kid to say... Tsunade took a look at him. She immediately recognised who he was. It struck her how similar he was to his parents... But the bet, the bet! She needed to focus on the bet.

"Uh... Can I get a painkiller?" Naruto hesitantly asked. She stared at him. And stared. Naruto felt uncomfortable. Even Shikamaru started to feel uncomfortable.

"Aren'cha going to say something about my breasts?" She asked in frustration with an irritated frown.

"Wh-WHAT?!" Naruto spluttered. Did she seriously just ask him that? Shikamaru coughed. Women scared him. They always had. And people accused him of exaggerating. If only they had been here a few seconds ago. They would _understand._

"Nothing, nothing." Tsunade mumbled. "Where does it hurt?" She asked. Naruto scratched the back of his head. His stomach hurt. His legs hurt after the beating yesterday.

"A lot of places?" Naruto gave as an answer. Tsunade frowned. With a tired sigh she gave him a couple of pills.

"This should do" She said and offered a glass of water. Naruto swallowed the bitter pills.

"Thanks" He smiled to the nurse and waved goodbye. She was a bit... weird... but she also seemed really nice. She hadn't glared at him. Naruto was about to leave with Shikamaru when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to look at Tsunade.

"I forgot to give you your candy" She grinned and gave Naruto and Shikamaru a piece each. Naruto looked at the candy. He really stared at it. It was almost as if he confirmed whether it was real or not. Naruto felt his eyes starting to sting. He stared at the little sugary sweet in his hand. He felt warm feelings stir inside of him. He looked up at Tsunade again. She frowned with concern at him.

"Is something wrong?" She asked. She had somehow made Naruto cry. Ouch. But he looked absolutely adorable. Naruto shook his head.

"No... Just... Thank you" Naruto nearly whispered. He was really happy right now. He would save this candy forever.

"Let's go" Shikamaru said and pulled him out. In the corridor Shikamaru looked at his watch. There was still a while left until the next lesson. Naruto leaned against the wall and looked at Shikamaru. It was the first time he had spent time with someone his age like this. This was really a lucky day. Shikamaru sighed at the smiling Naruto. He had to admit that Naruto had a surprisingly bright personality.

"Come with me, we have some time to kill before our next lesson" Shikamaru said and started walking. Naruto followed with a smile. He watched as Shikamaru (dare he say his new friend?) walked with his hands in his pockets. He looked terribly bored. That seemed to be his default setting. Naruto and Shikamaru eventually arrived at their destianation. The roof. Naruto took a breath of fresh air. It was a sunny day and the view was beautiful. He stretched his limbs but immediately regretted that. It hurt. Damn. He saw Shikamaru lie down and decided to do the same. It was so warm and comfortable... So it's no wonder... That Naruto fell... asleep. The wind blew gently as the two boys lay there under the vast sky.

...

"…oi, I said wake up. You troublesome..." Naruto woke up to Shikamaru's muttering. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He noticed that the sun had moved a considerable amount.

"School's already over" Shikamaru yawned as he stretched his arms over his head. "We fell asleep" He added as if it wasn't a problem. They had missed two lessons. Naruto had promised Iruka that he would go to school properly. But it wasn't like he had skipped on purpose. Oh well. There wasn't much to do about it anyways. Shikamaru didn't seem bothered in the slightest. Naruto guessed that this wasn't the first time this happened to him. They walked together from school until they had to walk separate paths. Naruto felt a bit sad, he wanted to hang out some more. It was really fun and nice and very... not... lonely. But then Naruto thought about how this would be the first time he would say goodbye to a friend after walking home together. That felt exciting. He was going to give it his all.

"See you tomorrow Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled enthusiastically and waved.

"Yeah, yeah" Shikamaru answered with a lazy wave and began to walk. Naruto practically skipped on his way home. Well, he would have if it hadn't hurt so much the first time he tried. He was just so happy! Sure he had taken some beating, but thanks to that he had gained a _friend._ That was... priceless. And, he had also met Tsunade the weird school nurse. Naruto's hand tightened around the candy in his pocket. He looked at the leafy trees around him and smiled as he saw some squirrels run alongside them. With his smile still in place he walked through the mahogany door at the entrance. And found himself. Face to face. With Sasuke. Woohoo. It was _almost_ funny. Naruto _almost_ laughed. Instead he took off his shoes and went to his room. Sasuke's eyes followed him. He had looked happy. Sasuke had only seen him look grumpy so far. Who would be smiling after getting beat up like that? Why hadn't he said anything? Sasuke had _kicked _him. Why hadn't Naruto yelled at him? Deep in thought, Sasuke continued to sweep the corridor. Oh god.. Sasuke inwardly groaned. WHY was he, an Uchiha, sweeping? He shook off a cold shiver. It was all for the sake of his future. All about being irresistible to Universities. Living up to his name. Defeating his brother. These were the things he was sweeping for.

...But he still wondered _why _it was _absolutely necessary_ for him to wear the apron. It had frills. _**And it was pink**._

_..._

When Sasuke was finally done with the sweeping he went to report it to Dolly. She was in the middle of playing with a couple of toddlers. Sasuke felt a small tug at his heart when he locked eyes with one of them. It was somewhat sad that they were alone at such a young age. Sasuke was aware that he had a _slightly_ faulty personality, but he was not by any means heartless. He had just always found it difficult to approach people and be friendly with them. He guessed one word for it could be shy... But that word rang far too weakish to fit him. Now that he was a more extroverted guy he tried to make an effort in order to not slip back under his stoic mask. Sasuke smiled at the child. He wanted to treasure the warmth he had access to in his life. He had spent so many years of his childhood being cold and unapproachable. When he thought back on it he had realised that he had actually been lonely. Now it was different though.

"I have finished sweeping, Dolores" He said to the timid dark ash blonde. She turned her soft blue eyes to him and smiled.

"Oh, call me Dolly" She said with a laugh. "Then can I ask you to put these chocolates in all of he children's rooms? We are lucky enough to receive these as a donation once a week. It really puts a smile on the little ones' faces when they come to their room and find their bar." Dolly added and handed Sasuke a wooded basket filled with some locally made chocolate bars. He took it from her.

"Leave it to me" Sasuke smiled. His face felt tired. He smiled more when he was here in the orphanage. It irritated him because he did not see himself as a particularly pleasant person. He felt out of character when he acted at ease with people other than his brother. Damn shyness and introvertedness, it still affected him. Deciding to ignore his faltering mood Sasuke turned to begin with his new mission.

"Oh, I just remembered!" Dolly's airy voice stopped him mid step. He arched his eyebrow in question.

"You don't need to leave any for the occupant in room 13" Sasuke frowned. That was the Narubrat's room.

"Why?" Sasuke asked. Dolly dropped her smile and turned downcast. She began speaking again as she put a strand of her shoulder length hair behind her ear.

"He... He umm... Doesn't need chocolate" Dolly answered with a nervous smile tugging the corners of her lips. Sasuke dropped a sweat. What a poor answer. Nobody_ needed _chocolate. It was just something to indulge in, not a necessity of any sort. And why was the atmosphere so heavy all of a sudden? A small tug on his sleeve pulled Sasuke from his looked down to see a small girl of perhaps six years of age. She looked up at him with sad eyes. He returned to her a look of confusion.

"He can't get any because he's a demon" The girl clarified sadly. Sasuke frowned. A demon? Why would the girl say something like that? He looked at Dolly who slowly nodded. If this was a joke, Sasuke wasn't understanding it correctly. Was this how Neji felt? He saw Petunia enter the room. Yes. He would simply ask _her_ why Naruto 'didn't need chocolate'. He stopped himself though when the boy in question entered shortly after. Dolly also looked at Naruto with interest. It was unusual for him to dwell around outside of his room.

"Ummm Petunia, could I get some... some money?" Naruto asked meekly while looking at the floor. Petunia wrinkled her nose as if that was the most barbaric words she had ever heard. Sasuke looked at Petunia. She looked between 40 and 50 years old and wore her dark brown hair in a bun. She looked quite strict and traditional so the wrinkling of her nose fit awfully well on her face. It almost made her look better than without it. Sasuke was quickly horrified by the fact that he was checking Petunia out. That was so. not. good. Ever.

"What on earth would _you _need money for?" Petunia said with a voice that hinted that she really wanted to add 'you stinking little sewer rat' to the end of her sentence. Sasuke was impressed. Petunia _really_ had a talent for expressing just how _distateful_ she found someone to be. He felt that he should learn from her, a skill like that would surely turn out to be useful in the future. Naruto, on the other hand, did not seem to appreaciate this expertise of Petunia. Sasuke saw him clench his fists before he looked up at Petunia with a smile.

"My lamp needs a new lightbulb. I can't study in the dark" Naruto explained. Sasuke arched a brow. He was pretty sure the orphanage had a room dedicated for the kids to come and study in. Why wouldn't Naruto use that? Petunia looked displeased. But Sasuke thought that she looked her best like that. It enhanced her beauty. Wait a second, just a little second here. Sasuke gulped. He was really questioning his sanity here. _Why_, god, _why _was he focusing on **Petunia** again. If he felt in the mood for praising a woman, wasn't Dolly the more obvious choice? Or did Sasuke really need to severely reconsider his preferences in the lady department? Becasue Sasuke simply could not get over how Petunia's ability to spit venom with her every word was utterly brilliant.

"Well do you really need it _now_? Are you not studying in _school_?" Petunia countered disapprovingly. Naruto fought his very strong urge to roll his eyes. Even though Petunia was like this she was the best one to ask for money and such. She wasn't scared of him like Dolly and the others, but she wasn't as severe and stern as the top matron.

"I do study in school, but you see... We sort of get homework" Naruto explained while trying to not sound cheeky. Or disrespectful. Or whatever Petunia wasn't in the mood for today.

"Oh alright then. But one lightbulb and that is all, understood? And you will show me the receipt when you return." Petunia gave in. "Wait here." She added before leaving the room. When she had left Naruto flicked his eyes in Sasuke's direction. He was actually handsome when he wasn't a total brute. Alright, maybe he was handsome then too but... Naruto scratched the back of his head. He was _confused._ Well, he _had _been at least. Now, Naruto was rather sure that he was indeed more attracted to the male side of the gender spectrum than the female. He hadn't even felt anything while looking at Tsunade's bosom, and that said something because even the expressionless Shikamaru had blushed. But yes, Naruto found the annoying Uchiha attractive. Naruto sedately gave Sasuke another glance and- OH GOD WAS THAT DOLLY'S APRON? Naruto went bug-eyed and he stared. Sasuke noticed. He also, turned his gaze toward the pink, frilly apron. To put it simply, he was not happy with this situation. If word spread about this embarrassment... No. That just couldn't happen. Sasuke wouldn't allow it.

"You didn't see anything" Sasuke did his best to sound threatening but his embarrassment nearly showed. Naruto made a stifled laugh. Sasuke glared. Naruto then made a slight grimace and put a hand over his ribs due to the pain of suppressing his laughter. Sasuke scowled slightly. He had never actually been that violent to someone before. At the time he had felt egged on by Kiba's savage ways but... That hadn't been a very gentlemanly way of solving things. Rugged violence was not befitting of an Uchiha.

"Here" Petunia came back and gave Naruto some money. "That should be enough" Petunia said and went to continue with her work. Naruto left the room without a word. When she heard the door close Dolly gave a sigh of relief.

"Don't forget to hand out the chocolate" She said with a smile. "If there is some left over you can take it since you have been so helpful." Sasuke nodded and remembered to give her the apron while he still had the chance.

"I will leave after I'm done with that" Sasuke informed Dolly and she nodded happily. Suddenly she was cheerful again. Did she really see Naruto as a Demon? Naruto? Really? Sasuke felt bewildered. Sure, he was rude but... scrawny and looked as far from scary as one could get. Nevertheless, Sasuke went to leave the chocolate before he left in his expensive black car.

...

When Naruto returned to his room he felt rather worn out. He was in pain. He decided that he would fix the lamp a little later, after a small rest. He threw himself face down on the bed and his face **hit something hard.**

"Oww" Naruto exclaimed and sat up on his knees. He gave his pillow a betrayed look. He saw something... odd. It looked like... Naruto swore it almost looked like... the chocolate from the shop nearby. But it couldn't be. He was seeing things. But the pain in his face was real, wasn't it? With a gulp Naruto reached out and grabbed it. It felt... very real. He gently unwrapped the paper around it, afraid to break this illusion. But what he found beneath the wrapping was indeed chocolate. Naruto took a bite. ...They had really given him chocolate.

* * *

**Authors note**

I know there's not much interaction between Sasuke and Naruto yet, but I'm a big fan of slow development. And my strories tend to be a bit slow at first... I want to give the story a solid foundation, you know? I find that to be more interesting. So.. I'm trying to keep it nice and slow. ;) And feel free to review if you find anything about my writing bad... Well if there is something you like as well... I'm positive to any feedback.

**Thank you for reading. :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Here I am again! I'm updating quite frequently because well, I've got time on my hands and a head inspired. So here I bring you chapter 3 of Shadows of Konoha. And thank you for reading, reviewing, favouriting, following. It feels good to know that there are people who appreciate my imagination.

Have a nice read! 3

* * *

"How has your week been, Sasuke?" Itachi asked his younger brother before sipping on his cup of tea. Sasuke glanced up from the newspaper he was reading. How had it been? He had acted inexcusably. He had kicked a fellow student... A student who didn't even fight back. Sasuke could never tell Itachi that, it was too shameful. Had anything else significant happened this week? Sasuke pondered for a second. Oh, right. He had begun volunteering at the orphanage. He almost felt like smacking himself on the head once. He should at least try to be a person appropriate for working with children, instead of waltzing around and beating people up. Itachi would never do something like that.

"It was fine. I've been volunteering for a couple of days. It was..." Sasuke remembered the apron. THE apron. "a new experience." He finally finished. Itachi gave him a look that said 'well-of-course-it-was-a-new-experience-because-you-haven't-even-been-in-an-orphanage-before-now-have-have-you?' Yes, Itachi was very much a master of speaking volumes with his eyes. Sasuke was working on that. This technique combined with Petunia's would make him invincible, he was sure of it.

"I swept" Sasuke hoped that this would suffice as an answer. He would prefer not to talk about the apron with anyone. Ever. Itachi chuckled and took another sip. Sasuke's gaze got caught on the hem of Itachi's black tee-shirt. His mind briefly flashed back to when Itachi was only allowed to wear short sleeves.

"Did you only sweep?" Itachi asked. Sasuke almost groaned in frustration.

"I cooked" He supplied. Itachi nodded. Sasuke smiled slightly behind the newspaper. He enjoyed Saturdays. Both he and Itachi were busy during weekdays (maintaining perfection is a tough job) so it was mostly during the weekends they could casually hang out like this. Today it was just the two of them as their parents were visiting some friends of theirs. Socializing was after all important for business. Speaking of social abilities... Sasuke's mind once again travelled to when he had kicked Naruto. How unsightly of him! It was not a moment of pride in Sasuke's opinion. He felt like he needed advice, but at the same time he was embarrassed by his own brutality and didn't want to talk about the incident.

"Itachi... Have you ever been violent?" Sasuke asked after some contemplation. Itachi looked up to return Sasuke's slightly guilty look.

"Well... yes. But you know that already, Sasuke" Itachi answered with slight hesitation while gazing into the tea. What? Sasuke was momentarily confused before it struck him. Right. Not the best thing to ask his brother. He should rephrase that.

"Eh... I meant if you've ever..." 'Gotten into a fight?' didn't quite seem like the right thing to say because Naruto hadn't been fighting back. Oh, this had bothered Sasuke for days. He had no idea what had gotten into him. He knew that he had always been somewhat of a jerk, but he had no idea it was this bad. "bullied someone...?" Sasuke tried. He wondered what Itachi would think of him now.

"No, I can't say that I have." Itachi said. "Is there something you would like to tell me, Sasuke?" Itachi questioned. Sasuke sighed. He always ended up telling his brother what it was that bothered him. But it was because Itachi was so reliable, despite being only five years older. At 21 he had already reached such wisdom. Sasuke sighed heavily.

"I kicked someone... After Kiba had beaten him up." Sasuke kept his eyes on the table during his confession.

"Why?" Itachi asked. He didn't sound angry or disappointed. Just like he wanted to know. Sasuke glanced up. He didn't look angry either.

"He... The first day I was in the orphanage he shoved the door on me and food spilled from the tray on my shirt." Sasuke blabbered. Itachi smiled at the slightly incohesive picture. But he roughly understood what happened. "My plan was to confront him at school and just tell him to respect me, but Kiba wanted to beat him up and I let him. Then I kicked him." Sasuke added. Itachi sighed. His brother was indeed to rash for his own good sometimes. But it was cute. Sasuke had always been a cute kid.

"If you feel bad about it you should apologise." Itachi advised while hugging the warm mug with his pale fingers. His sleeves were pulled halfway over his hands.

"Are you cold?" Sasuke asked slightly disbelievingly. It was still September and the warmth of summer still lingered in the air. It was still a bit too early in the year to feel chilly.

"I suppose" Itachi said. "But really, Sasuke, you should apologize." He added with a 'if-you-don't-you-will-just-keep-moping-and-that-will-only-distract-you-and-you-know-that-it-was-wrong-to-kick-him-if-you-are-my-brother-you-know-what-to-do-make-me-proud' kind of look. Sasuke nodded with a sigh.

"Yeah, I suppose I should." Sasuke felt slightly defeated. He could remember few times in his life when he had apologised for something he had done.

"I can drive you there" Itachi offered. Sasuke frowned.

"What.. now?" He questioned. Itachi nodded.

"Let's do it before you change you mind" Itachi said as he rose. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. He supposed it was best not to postpone it.

…

"This week has been soooooo amazing, Iruka!" Naruto said as he slurped down his noodles. The kind looking brunet in his mid twenties smiled at the boy. He always ate with such enthusiasm.

"Really? What happened?" He asked Naruto. Naruto grinned at him secretively.

"Hmmm... Should I really tell Iruka?" The teen held his chin as if he was contemplating seriously. Iruka laughed.

"Alright, I will buy you another bowl of ramen" Iruka gave in. Naruto smiled triumphantly.

"Then I shall tell you!" He said with what Iruka presumed Naruto thought was an evil laugh. He wondered what it could be that had made Naruto's week so great.

"I MADE A FRIEND" Naruto practically yelled in his ear. Iruka nearly flinched from the shock. With a grimace he wondered why Naruto had to yell. But this really was great news. He felt relieved somewhere in his heart to hear this. He knew that Naruto had wanted a friend for a really long time. And who could blame him? Everybody wanted to feel a sense of community with others. He suddenly remembered when he first met Naruto a couple of years ago. He had been so defiant and angry. It had been a little difficult to gain his trust. Iruka smiled at the fact that Naruto had become able to connect to people. He listened as Naruto kept talking.

"His name is Shikamaru and he's in my class. We became friends because he helped me when Ki- when uhh.. I FELL. When I fell in the uhh bathroom." That was a close one, Naruto almost revealed getting beat up by Kiba again. He didn't want to worry Iruka. He wanted to have fun when he was with him, and not think about depressing stuff like that. "But that's not all," Naruto continued without giving Iruka a chance to say anything. "We have a new school nurse and she gave me candy. I bet you want to meet her... Her breast are HUGE. She wanted me to say something about them so I thought that she was totally weird... she made Shikamaru _blush_! Speaking of him, he's also kind of out there. He threw cigarettes in the toilet, I forgot to ask why though... And oooh! I got chocolate in the orphanage! It was in my room when I got back from the store. I went there because I needed a new light bulb, I couldn't read because it was too dark... CAN YOU BELIEVE ALL OF THIS?!" Naruto finished off his rambling loudly and beamed at Iruka with bright eyes. Iruka blinked a couple of times. Naruto sure was hyper today. He had always been quite energetic but still. Any more and he would be bouncing off the walls in the restaurant. He ruffled Naruto's hair.

"It sounds like you've had a lot of fun" Naruto nodded enthusiastically. He was always in a good mood when he was with Iruka. Iruka smiled at Naruto before glancing at his wristwatch.

"It's about time I head back, Naruto. I have a patient soon" Iruka explained. Naruto's smile faltered slightly when he nodded. It was always sad to part ways. He still felt like dragging Shikamaru with him to the orphanage when they said goodbye. When it came to Iruka Naruto just wanted to be adopted. He hadn't told him, but he always hoped that Iruka would spring the news on him one day. He knew that he was hoping for too much, but one was allowed to dream, right? Iruka payed for the food and they left the restaurant. Iruka then headed toward his car after saying goodbye to Naruto. Naruto commenced his lonely walk to the orphanage.

…

"Sasuke? Dolly asked in confusion when he entered the orphanage. He noticed her saucer eyes flicker to his brother. "Y-you weren't scheduled for the weekend? She gave a mix of a question and a statement. Sasuke nodded.

"I came to... visit Naruto" Dolly dropped the towels she was carrying from the laundry room. Her eyes widened.

"W-Why?" She tried to sound casual. Sasuke thought of what to say. Somehow the words 'I came to apologise for kicking him in the stomach' didn't seem too applicable. Dolly would probably be scared of him too if he said that.

"I felt like it" Sasuke said with a shrug. Dolly nodded slowly, still with that odd expression in her face. Coincidentally Petunia walked by.

"What brings you here, Sasuke?" She asked with a small smile. Yes, Sasuke thought, she definitely looked better with a scowl.

"Umm..." He said. Itachi gave him a look.

"My brother would like to visit Naruto" Itachi aided his younger brother as he seemed to be at a temporary loss of words. Petunia gave Itachi a look. Itachi of course returned one to her, he was a master of looks after all.

"I see." She said sharply. "unfortunately, that child isn't here at the moment so I must say that your visit here was in vain. She looked at Itachi as if he was dirt on her shoe. Sasuke blinked. One. Two. Three times. Saske had never seen anyone look at Itachi like that. Petunia sure had some guts. If only she had been some 20 years younger... He might've fallen for her. Dolly looked from Petunia to the brothers. Should she say something? Right then the door opened and Naruto entered. He rubbed his eyes. He was hallucinating, he was sure, because he had walked in and stumbled upon Sasuke and Sasuke with long hair. When he opened his eyes again he noticed that Sasuke with long hair looked slightly different from the other one, the one that he was used to. But he couldn't fathom why on earth they were two. So he stared. Sasuke stared. Itachi stood there, thinking that the small hallway was getting a bit cramped. Petunia left with a 'hmpfh' and Dolly decided it was best to follow her. Naruto somehow regained his senses.

"I think your cloning experiment failed miserably because you don't look that much alike" He deadpanned. Nobody quite knew what to say after that. They just sort of stood there without knowing what to do. The Uchiha brothers had been quite... surprised by that.

"We are not clones" Itachi finally said. Naruto's eyes then quite clearly said 'you-don't-say?'.

"Well duh, since you failed" He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But enough about that. You're in the way." Naruto added, because he really wanted to go to his room and mope about not being with Iruka. Sasuke moved out of the way and then followed Naruto as he headed for his room. Naruto turned his head ad gave him a suspicious look. Sasuke didn't say anything so Naruto kept on going. When he opened the door into his room Sasuke was still there. Why? Naruto couln't help but wonder.

"What. is. it?" Naruto asked, sounding very suspicious. Sasuke scowled. To think he had to apologize to such a rude brat.

"Does it still hurt?" He found himself asking. Naruto gave him a baffled look.

"Uh yeah?" Naruto said sounding irritated.

"Let me take a look to see how bad it is" Sasuke said. Naruto raised his eyebrows.

"What?" Naruto wasn't sure he had heard correctly. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Just let me take a look and I will leave" Sasuke said and pushed himself and Naruto into the room.

"What?! No!" Naruto confusedly protested.

"It won't take long" Sasuke said and pushed Naruto on the bed. What the fu- Naruto frantically tried to think in his confusion. What exactly _was_ this situation? All of a sudden the stunningly handsome Uchiha came into his room... Planning to do exactly what? And Naruto wasn't even sure if he hated this development. But well he hated Sasuke because he kicked him... But... what? Sasuke pinned the struggling but at the same time not so struggling blond down as he pulled up his shirt to see his stomach. It was still bruised. What Sasuke was really surprised to see though, was a swirly looking tattoo that circled around his belly button. Sasuke wondered how on earth he managed to afford a tattoo when he had to beg to get money to buy a stupid light bulb. Sasuke sighed and let go. Feeling guilty again he stood up. Naruto blinked. Was it over? He was happy but at the same time not so happy. But over all he was just really confused. What in the world was going on here? WHAT was SASUKE even doing in HIS ROOM.

"YOU MOLESTER!" Naruto yelled loudly and accusingly at Sasuke. Sasuke turned to look at him. What had Naruto just called him? A molester? Him? Uchiha Sasuke? Outside the room Itachi dropped a sweat. Exactly how was his brother apologising?

"What did you call me?" Sasuke glared.

"I CALLED YOU WHAT YOU ARE YOU FREAKING MOLESTER IDIOT WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU EVEN DOING IN MY ROOM AND WHY WERE YOU MOLESTING ME I DON'T EVEN GET IT YOU JERK" Naruto yelled and threw a pillow at Sasuke's face. Sasuke stared at him in slight horror. That was quite some yelling. He would be lucky to get out of this without a hearing loss. And he had not molested anyone.

"What are you talking about I wasn-" Sasuke stopped "Are you blushing?" He asked incredulously.

"I'M **NOT** BLUSHING" Naruto denied and dove under his covers. He tried desperately to sort out his thoughts. But his heart was beating so fast. And Sasuke's fingers had been so soft. And he was a stupid molester. And NONE of this made sense. Had he fallen asleep on his walk home from the ramen place? This couldn't be reality. It was way too WEIRD. Sasuke looked at the bundle on the bed. Naruto had been blushing, Sasuke was sure of it. Did he really think that Sasuke had molested him? How did that happen?

"Look, I wasn't molesting you damn it." Sasuke was getting irritated. Was this really worth the trouble? The bundle did not answer him. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was simply trying to apologise... For kicking you like that. It was a stupid thing to do and I'm sorry." There, now he had said it. Sasuke immediately felt like less of a barbarian. But really, this was embarrasing. Naruto's head popped out of the covers.

"Apologise... really?" He sounded sceptical. Sasuke coulnd't help but to find that cute. Like that, Naruto reminded him of puppies and kittens... and all that kind of stuff an Uchiha wasn't supposed to be seen cuddling. They had a reputation to protect.

"Yes, really." Sasuke said with a tired sigh. He was getting a headache. Naruto stared at him some more.

"Why...? Do you want to be my friend?" Naruto asked innocently. Sasuke paused in his thoughts. Where had that come from? ...That hadn't exactly been his intention. He just wanted to apologise because it was the proper thing to do. But he looked at that puppykitten Naruto. Somehow he coulnd't see himself saying 'No I don't want to be your friend' when those azure looked at him like that. Innocent, longing, wanting, but scared and fragile. Just like a small animal. Sasuke felt himself being carried away by his thoughts. It wasn't like he had a reason to say no, was it?

"Yes... why not?" Sasuke said after some time. Naruto's eyes widened even further before he turned his eyes to the floor. Sasuke frowned. Had he said something wrong? Maybe Naruto hoped that he wouldn't want to be his friend? Sasuke cursed his lack of social skills.

"Uhh.." Sasuke eloquently said. Naruto timidly looked up. He bit his lower lip. His heart was beating like crazy and he didn't know what to do. He doubted he was getting a heart attack... But the more he looked at Sasuke... Sasuke watched as Naruto's face slowly turned red again. He looked adorable, peeking out of the covers with that look. If Sasuke was a slightly more crazy person he would want him as a pet, but he wasn't so he was definitely not considering that idea. Perhaps it was time to leave.

"Well then... I should go now.." Sasuke said and slowly stepped towards the door. Naruto just dove under his covers again.

"That seemed to go smoothly" Itachi teased when Sasuke had closed the door.

"Shut up" He answered. Itachi must've been deeply amused when he waited. But Sasuke didn't mind the teasing too much. He took a glance at his brother as they left the Haven. Itachi was the only blemish of the Uchiha family, but at the same time he was the most brilliant of them all. A paradox the Uchihas tried to keep secret. To the outside world Itachi was nothing but flawless. To Sasuke, Itachi was the best brother anyone could wish for, and said a lot because Sasuke had high standards when it came to most aspects of life.

…

"How was your weekend Sasuke?" Ino asked during lunch time when they were all gathered around their usual table. 'MOLESTER!' echoed in Sasuke's mind.

"Hn. Alright I suppose" Sasuke answered slightly grumpily. Neji 'hmpfh'ed when he heard this.

"Your tone of voice begs to differ. If your weekend was alright you would sound a bit more zealous. You _imbecile_." Neji kindly pointed out. Sasuke raised a brow. It sounded like someone ate lemons for breakfast this morning. Sasuke glared at Neji. What was he thinking? Calling him an imbecile.. Meanwhile, Kiba groaned.

"Don't use so complicated words this early in the weeeek" he whined tiredly. He had apparently stayed up all night playing some game. "What the heck is an iiiiiimbecile anyways?" He added while sounding like he didn't actually want to know.

"What did you do Sasuke?" Sakura decided to ignore her dog loving friend and his misery for the sake of talking to Sasuke.

"I found a pet..." Sasuke revealed with an enigmatic expression.

"Is it a dog?!" Kiba immediately regained his vitality. He REALLY loved dogs. One might say that he was a teeny bit obsessed even.

"… and a kitten." Sasuke said. He was met with the confused eyes of his friends. It dawned upon him that he wasn't making sense.

"You bought a puppy and a kitten?" Ino asked. Sasuke shook his head.

"No, it's up for adoption" He cleverly said.

"Oh, so you can't decide if you want to adopt the kitten or the puppy?" Sakura guessed. "In that case bring me along to look at them I can help you decide" She quickly offered before Ino had the chance. Sasuke inwardly groaned. Somehow this had escalated into something unwanted.

"No need, I don't want it that much" He assured before standing up to leave the cafeteria.

…

"Have you ever been molested?"

"… What?" Shikamaru raised a brow at Naruto. They were at the rooftop eating lunch together with Shikamaru's best friend Chouji. He had been absent last week due to a hospital visit caused by overeating. Chouji almost choked on his food at Naruto's question.

"Have you?" Naruto asked with a concerned face.

"No" Shikamaru said. Naruto was full of surprises, wasn't he?

"I have..." Naruto said and looked away. Shikamaru gulped. Was this turning into some troublesome sob-story about a traumatic past? Please no.

"Sasuke came to the orphanage" Naruto continued and looked up at Shikamaru and Chouji. Chouji dropped a chopstick. Shikamaru dropped a sweat. _That_ Sasuke was involved in this?

"I don't know what to do... We became friends afterwards but... still..." Naruto sighed and scratched the back of his head. It felt nice to be able to share his troubles with friends like this. He wanted help to understand Sasuke's intentions. Shikamaru felt as if some part of the story was missing. Because it was not making sense. At all.

"So you're saying Sasuke went to the Haven, molested you, and then became your friend?" Naruto nodded.

"He said that he molested me because he wanted to apologise for kicking me" Naruto explained. Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows. Man, this Sasuke was a surprisingly weird dude.

"Is Sasuke gay?" Chouji asked. Shikamaru sighed.

"How would I know?" He said. Suddenly they heard the sound of the door opening. Shikamaru found the energy to turn his head. He briefly wondered why troublesome things kept happening.

"Ah, there he is" Chouji said. Sasuke turned to their direction when he heard them. His facial expression flashed a surprised one for a second when he saw Naruto.

"Hey... I don't care if you're the class president of the second years or whatever, but what're you thinking, molesting people?" Shikamaru said with his usual bored voice. Sasuke froze. No. No. no no no nononono. Naruto had not told them that he had been molested by Sasuke. Because he hadn't molested him.

"You little...!" Sasuke glared at Naruto. "I told you that I didn't molest you. I was just checking how badly you were hurt and I wanted to apologise!" Sasuke explained with a menacing aura. Naruto nodded.

"That's what I told Shikamaru and Chouji" Naruto said while avoiding meeting Sasuke's eyes. They made him feel close to blushing. Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Naruto had just misunderstood.

"So are you gay?" Chouji asked while munching on his snacks. Sasuke's eye twitched. For some inexplicable reason Petunia flashed in his mind.

"No, I am not." Sasuke clarified.

"Have you seen Tsunade's breasts?" Naruto asked him casually. The twitching continued.

"They're huge, man" Shikamaru informed him as he remembered that lovely sight. Sasuke was sure he felt a vein pop in his head.

"ARE YOU GUYS HIGH OR SOMETHING? AND BESIDES IT'S FORBIDDEN FOR YOU TO BE ON THE ROOF". There, he felt better now that he had gotten that out of his system. It was important to not keep the stress pent inside of yourself. It could lead to health problems.

"High on life only" Shikamaru anwered calmly. "Let's go, class is about to start." He said and urged Naruto and Chouji to follow him.

"Bye Sasuke" Naruto said with a smile. He looked like he wanted to laugh. Sasuke watched them leave. These underclassmen... They were mocking him. Sasuke groaned as his headache intensified. He had wanted to go to the roof to relieve it, not add to it. And who the hell was Tsunade?

* * *

**Authors Note**

Well... How was it? I hope it was up to your standards~~ Thank you for reading ;D

LovePeppermint


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everyone! Here I am with chapter four of this baby. I hope that it's enjoyable for you. Is it?

Oh, just in case you wondered... I don't own Naruto. The manga isn't mine. Grrrrr. Now go read! GO! *Shoves you down a couple of lines*

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Sasuke had problem. A big one. And a headache.

"Really Sasuke, you should have told us right away that you were volunteering" Sakura giggled as she walked beside him. Damn Itachi.

"Thank god your brother told us when we asked him why you were busier than usual" Ino said with a sigh of relief as she walked on Sasuke's other side. They were currently walking towards the Haven. He wasn't sure how, but the two girls had managed to force him on a friendly walk to the orphanage. Sasuke usually traveled by car. Yes, it was a short distance, but Sasuke really liked his car. The girls had insisted on coming with him because how could they not? It was for such a good cause and the little kids and... etcetera. Sasuke hadn't been very attentive when they rambled on about why it was such a good idea to volunteer together. This was why Sasuke hadn't told his friends. How was he supposed to work with two chattering girls after him every second? It would probably just scare away the kids. And Dolly. Sasuke put his only hopes on Petunia. She would surely be able to make them do proper work as far away from him as possible. He wondered if he would run into Naruto today. It had been a week since that odd encounter on the roof. They hadn't met since. Sasuke had also gotten his temper in check, as evident by the fact that he hadn't abused anyone. He inwardly snorted. Gee, what a joy. Sasuke the Great Barbarian had fallen. That must have been the shortest rebellious period of mankind. It lasted for a whole of five minutes. And girls called him a bad boy. Sasuke shook his head at their distorted view of him. He had top grades, was the class president, and volunteered at an orphanage. In what language did that translate into Bad Boy? He would really like to know.

"Oh my god, look Sakura! It's so cute when you actually see it up close." Ino happily exclaimed when they entered the garden. Sakura squealed.

"And _look_ at the flowers Ino! They're as pretty as the ones in your shop!" Sakura mused as she bent to look at them more closely. Ino's family owned a flower shop so that was high praise.

"What are you saying? Our flowers are obviously better" Ino insisted but also took a closer look. Meanwhile, Sasuke couldn't help but... He really couldn't help it... They were wearing shorts... It was only natural that he seized the moment to take a good look at the view. Sadly, the girls quickly left the flowers to enter the Haven. Sasuke heard them cackling about how this and that was cute or really pretty. When they were finally inside of the building a new wave of squealing erupted. Apparently this place was totally adorable. After some introductions and instructions they were set to work. As Sasuke had suspected, Petunia had put them as far away as possible. Today, she was wearing a long dark green dress with a black ribbon at the waist. The deep green really suited her, Sasuke decided. He had stopped condemning himself for appreciating Petunia like this. She was too fantastic not to be impressed. Her mannerism was just spot on. If she was young, she would really have been Sasuke's type. He didn't look at her romantically now of course, it would just have been weird, so his feelings for Petunia were without a doubt only those of respect... Really.

"We rarely have volunteers as capable as you" Petunia praised Sasuke as he was chopping a carrot. She gave him that rare smile Sasuke had noticed she saved only for him.

"I'm honoured to have you think so highly of me... Petunia. But I'm still no where near your level of ability" Sasuke modestly replied.

"Oh, nonsense" She giggled.

Meanwhile, as far away from Sasuke as possible, Sakura and Ino were whispering about their plan. They were going to investigate if there was a potential threat at the orphanage. They needed to know if there was a girl here that had lured Sasuke into volunteering here. Therefore, they tried to finish their chore of plucking weeds from the flower beds as quickly as they could. Thanks to their strong motivation and devotion to their mission, they finished in no time. Silently they snuck into the building to search. They didn't need to sneak around for long as they quickly bumped into Dolly.

"Oh hello!" She greeted. She had been slightly surprised by their sudded appearence. "Are you two the new volunteers?" Dolly added.

"Yes, yes we are.." Sakura answered as she studied Dolly. She looked fairly beautiful... But her hair was too short for Sasuke's taste. Ino and Sakura exchanged looks. It was highly unlikely that it was her.

"I'm sorry, but we're busy and can't stay to talk" Ino said before she and Sakura walked away quickly. They searched and searched but to no avail. Not only did they not find a girl that matched Sasuke's preferences, they didn't even find Sasuke! They exchanged looks of determination. The only place left was the kitchen and dining area.

…

Naruto felt peckish. He also felt bold and decided to try to persuade Petunia into letting him have a snack before dinner. So he ventured for the kitchen, where she usually was this time of day. When he walked in he was surprised to see Sasuke. What shocked him though, was the fact that Petunia was smiling. He had never seen her do that. Ever. And Petunia had been there for as long as Naruto could remember. Sasuke noticed Naruto come in. Great! Sasuke smirked. At last the puppykitten showed itself.

"Are you hungry?" he asked Naruto. Petunia's face quickly turned sour when she noticed him.

"Yeah" Naruto said. Would Sasuke give him a snack? They were supposedly friends now so maybe he would... Heh. Naruto felt lucky that Sasuke was here, thanks to that he was saved of the immense trouble of getting on Petunia's good side (like that ever happened). Sasuke ruffled Naruto's hair.

"I'll get you something." He said and began searching the cupboards for something. He found a packet of crackers while Petunia angrily stirred the stew she was making with Sasuke in the background.

"Here" Sasuke gave Naruto a few crackers and patted his head. Naruto thought that Sasuke's actions were a bit odd, and that he was in an oddly good mood. But it wasn't like he minded that.

"W_hat_ are you touching Sasuke?!" Came a shrill voice from the doorway. Ino and Sakura had finally managed to weasel their way into the kitchen. Sasuke frowned. Wasn't it obvious? He was petting the rare new species puppykitten on the head. Naruto though looked in surprise at the girls. What were _they_ doing here? Was this becoming the new place to hang out or something?

"None of your business, Sakura" Sasuke coldly brushed her off. She grimaced.

"But Sasuke he's... he's... everyone know's that no one's supposed to go near him!" She sputtered. Naruto looked away. He didn't want to see the disgust in her eyes. Sasuke glared at Sakura. He noticed that Ino was also standing there, looking absolutely horrified.

"Why can't I?" He asked her coldly while keeping his hand on Naruto's head as a subconscious protective action.

"Because..." Sakura started but couldn't find the words.

"That's just the way things are, Sasuke" Ino pleadingly tried to reason with him. He arched a brow. Did they realise how stupid they seemed? They couldn't even supply him with a decent argument. Naruto bit his lip. He needed to get away from the kitchen. He didn't want to hear this. He was used to this, but he felt so frustrated at how everybody were entitled to their human rights except for him. He pushed away Sasuke's hand from his head. Sasuke looked at him in surprise.

"You don't need to make your friends upset because of me" He tiredly said. Sasuke frowned and took a hold of Naruto's shoulders.

"They are upset because they are bigoted and stupid, not because of you" Sasuke explained to Naruto while looking into his big azure eyes. Sakura and Ino made a piercing noise in the background. Naruto looked sceptically at Sasuke. Was he for real? He was taking his side? Naruto couldn't think of a reason for him to do that. Naruto was just Naruto, but they were his _real_ friends (Naruto hoped they weren't his girlfriends). Naruto looked into Sasuke's dark eyes. He looked honest. This was so confusing. Naruto felt a lot of feelings stir inside of him again.

"I..." He started. Naruto felt himself turning red. Sasuke arched a brow in confusion.

"I have to go" Naruto peeped before he scurried away, leaving the kitchen drama behind him. He quickly ran into his room and slammed the door behind himself. He slid down it. When he was settled he took a deep breath in order to calm his frenzied heart.

"Oh no..." He mumbled into his hands. He was not crushing on Sasuke. He. Was. NOT. And that was final. He was just not used to being treated decently... Not used to somebody taking his side... Or looking into his eyes like that... nor was he used to BEING CLOSE TO A TOTAL STUD. Naruto groaned loudly.

"Ughhhhhhh" Naruto ruffled his hair and then recalled that Sasuke had done exactly that just minutes ago.

"Aghhhhh" He complained to his empty room. All he had wanted was to make friends. How could he be Sasuke's friend of he turned into some kind of deformed tomato every time Sasuke locked eyes with him? That did not sound very practical to Naruto and he failed to see a solution to this. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready to have a crush, he wasn't ready to have lots of complex feelings. He was for gods sake only a beginner at interacting with people like a normal person. He had only recently made real friends that weren't Iruka but he didn't count because he was Naruto's fantasy father. Why would the universe force him to suffer like this? He felt jittery and nervous, and honestly, that quickly became annoying.

"Bleeeeeh stupid Sasuke.." Naruto pouted.

The kitchen, was still in turmoil. Sasuke looked at Ino and Sakura disaprovingly.

"Try again when you have an actual reason for thinking that you are right." He said bitterly. "And by the way, I think you should leave. Petunia and I still have a stew to finish" The two girls looked at Petunia. They saw how Sasuke _smiled_ at Petunia. Sakura and Ino slowly backed out of the room and decided to go home early. That was... mortifying. They suddenly felt like they knew Sasuke immensely less than they thought they did. They decided to consider the possibility that they had slightly miscalculated what kind of woman Sasuke was really after. Sasuke and Petunia simply continued to cook the stew in peace, grateful that they had the kitchen to themselves again.

"I'll see you in a couple of days then" Sasuke said to Petunia when he was done with the dishes.

"Don't work yourself too hard at school" She advised with a smile. Sasuke nodded and waved her goodbye.

…

The tension at the dinner table at the Uchiha manor was quiet. Sasuke was contemplating on what Sakura and Ino possibly could have against Naruto. Itachi was poking at his food. Their parents Mikoto and Fugaku watched them.

"How was your day at the Haven Sasuke?" Mikoto asked her absent-minded son. Sasuke tensed. Then frowned. Then sighed.

"It gave me a headache, honestly." Sasuke admitted. Fugaku scowled.

"Are the kids that badly disciplined?" Fugaku asked disapprovingly. Sasuke shook his head.

"The kids are mostly fine. It's just that Sakura and Ino followed me there and well..." He didn't need to say more. The whole family was well aware of Sasuke's issues with girls. He had some sort of maddening effect on them. They had even discussed a few times whether there was something odd with Sasuke's pheromones.

"It's so strange... The girls were never this brash when Itachi was 17." Mikoto sighed. She had to throw away tens of fan letters every week. Sometimes it felt like every teen girl in town was in love with her son.

"Of course" Itachi said. "Sasuke possesses much more charisma than I do" He expressed with a smile and put down his chopsticks. "I'm afraid that I don't have much of an appetite today so I will excuse myself here" Itachi smiled and walked from the room, letting one of the maids clean up after him. Mikoto frowned.

"I wonder if Itachi's getting ill? He was a bit pale wasn't he?" She asked worridely. Sasuke snorted.

"Look around you, mom. We're all pale. It would be strange if Itachi _wasn't_." Sasuke reminded her. "And besides, he's probably just busy with homework." He added, knowing that Itachi was even more of a perfectionist that he himself was. Itachi could work for hours on the easiest assignements because there was some tiny detail that wasn't to his liking. Mikoto nodded at Sasuke with a smile.

Suddenly, Itachi came back. He now had a small smirk on his face.

"I forgot to mention one thing" He notified.

"What?" Fugaku arched an eyebrow at his oldest son.

"Sasuke wants to adopt a pet." ...And with those words he left. When Sasuke had gotten over the surprise he glared after Itachi.

"Really? What animal is it?" Mikoto asked with interest. She wasn't opposed to Sasuke having a pet, he was responsible enough to take care of it.

"Nothing. Itachi was just joking..." Sasuke muttered and turned to his food.

"Oh?" Mikoto never seemed to follow Itachi's sense of humour.

…

The next morning was a rainy one. Naruto stretched in his bed. He glanced at his clock. Half past five it was. Perfect, Naruto smiled. He quietly snuck to the kitchen and made himself a sandwich for breakfast. He then hurried to take a short shower. Naruto always had to wake up before everyone else. It had been like this for years, Naruto wasn't even sure when it had started. He wasn't allowed to have meals with the other children or play with them. Naruto didn't think much about it anymore, it had become a habit for him long ago. Naruto wondered what mornings would be like if he was adopted by Iruka. He smiled at the thought as he packed the last books into his old orange companion. He would probably oversleep all the time and Iruka would scold him but then give him a warm smile. And they would eat breakfast together and laugh. He would be as loud as he wanted and wouldn't need to sneak around in order not to wake anybody. Naruto sighed and headed out through the mahogany doors. He didn't have any umbrella. That didn't matter, Naruto loved rain... It felt freeing somehow. With a big smile on his lips he ran out in the wetness and span around a few times before he continued towards his school. He would be soaked when he got there, but at least he would be smiling.

When Naruto arrived he quickly found a radiator to lean on. It felt nice. He had no idea how long he had been sitting there, and he had fallen into slumber somewhere in the middle of it, but suddenly he was pulled up to his feet. Naruto squinted at the light and saw Kiba. He looked furious. Behind him were Sakura and Ino. Despite his unfavourable position he noticed that they looked different than usual. They somehow reminded him of Petunia... Maybe it was the bun hairstyle?

"What the heck are you getting friendly with Sasuke for?!" Kiba growled at him and shook him by his collar. Naruto glared at him. He really wanted to punch the idiot, but he couldn't. Sometimes it was difficult to protect promises.

"None of your business, you spineless baboon" Naruto retorted. Kiba's glare intesified.

"I know all about you, and I won't let you get near any of my friends" Kiba spat threatingly. Naruto's anger rose. Kiba was saying lots of nonsense all the time but this was really provoking Naruto. How could Kiba say that he knew anything about him? Naruto clenched his teeth.

"What the hell do you know about me?!" Naruto pushed Kiba away angrily. "You don't know _anything_" Naruto added. Kiba sneered.

"I know what I need to. I know that you're a fucking **demon**, so stay away from my friends." He ordered Naruto. Naruto felt his emotions fall turmoil. That was one word he was _very_ sensitive to. Demon. Demon. Demon. Demon. DEMON. He had lived with it all of his life and he couldn't even grasp a reason _why_. _Why_ did they make him into a _**demon**_?

"Do I look like a demon to you?!" Naruto asked hoarsely. "How? Where? EXACTLY WHAT PART OF ME IS A **DEMON** TO YOU?!" He hadn't felt this angry in a long time. He was just so tired of relentless mocking and fighting and insults...

"If you're not a demon,.. WHY ELSE WOULD EVERYBODY HATE YOU?!" Kiba yelled back. He panted due to his passionate anger. Naruto felt a painful jab at his heart.

"how.. HOW CAN I KNOW?!" Naruto grabbed Kiba's collar and glared up at him. He ignored the hot tears that were running down his cheeks. "I don't know why everybody hates me" He said with a broken look. "I have no idea" He said. Kiba gulped. The look in Naruto's eyes was so raw and... pained. He stared at him and felt his resolution wavering.

"Kiba, just beat him up already... those are just crocodile tears anyways" Sakura snapped. Kiba took a step back. He couldn't do it. He released himself from Naruto's grip and stormed out of the corridor. Naruto let out a shaky breath and slid down against the wall. That had been intense. He had let himself be too open...

"Damn it, what do we do now?" Ino bit her nail.

"How about you leave?" A voice came from behind her. She turned around to meet... a pineapple?

"As if we'd listen to _you_" she said. Naruto looked up when he heard Shikamaru. He shakingly stood up.

"Let's go to class, Shikamaru" He said.

"Sure" came the reply. They left without giving the girls a second look.

…

The atmosphere at lunch was... not pleasant. Sakura and Ino looked grumpier than ever and Kiba just looked sort of lost. Neji looked annoyed, but that was normal. Sasuke wondered if he should ask them if something had happened. It seemed like the right thing for a friend to do, and they were his friends... But he was still displeased with Sakura and Ino after their attitude towards Naruto. He decided that it didn't hurt to ask what happened. Maybe they felt guilty?

"Why the heck are you in such a bad mood? You're ruining my lunch." Sasuke wondered if he maybe should have phrased that differently... and with a less irritable voice. Nobody seemed keen to answer though.

"Oh but for GOD'S SAKE. You two look as if you have swallowed a swarm of flies and you Kiba-! That unmanly sulking is highly disturbing. I refuse to stay here with you **_imbeciles_**" Neji spat before he lifted his tray to go sit with his very annoying friend Lee because right now his other friends were even more annoying than him. Sasuke sighed.

"I'll leave too... I'm finished anyways." He said and left the trio. They sat in silence for a while before Ino snapped.

"Why didn't you beat him up? We told you to beat him up." She said accusingly to Kiba. He frowned at her.

"He was crying dammit" He answered. The girls scowled.

"Since when does that matter to you?" Sakura asked and left together with Ino. Kiba frowned. It shouldn't matter to him but... Somehow he felt like he was in the wrong. Had Kiba made a huge mistake? He suddenly felt like a really bad person.

…

"Why does everybody hate me?" Naruto asked Chouji and Shikamaru on the rooftop. Shikamaru sighed.

"They're stupid" He answered and let out his dark brown hair from its confinement in his ponytail. Chouji nodded.

"You're not such a bad guy" He said. Naruto smiled faintly.

"Am I a demon?" He asked. "People keep telling me that..." Shikamaru glanced at Naruto. He looked tired and deep in thought.

"Wouldn't you be the one to know if you were?" Shikamaru answered while swiping water from his forehead. It hadn't stopped raining, but they had still opted to eat on the roof due to the simple reason that it was their place. Naruto lay down on the hard roof.

"I suppose you're right..." He said as heclosed his eyes and let the rain wash away his negativity. The friends reached a peaceful silence. The only sound came from the dripping of the rain. Their comfortable tranquillity was abruptly disrupted by the loud banging of the door. Three heads turned in curiosity. They saw Sasuke.

"What the HECK are you doing?!" Sasuke yelled at Naruto when he saw him lying in the rain. He had gone up to the roof to clear his head a bit, only to see this. Naruto and his friends eating their lunch in the pouring rain. Sasuke was beginning to understand that the roof wasn't the right place to go to for relaxation. And all Naruto did was give him a questioning look. Seriously, there had to be something wrong with him. _Why_ were they even eating _here_ when it was raining?

"Come here" Sasuke muttered and pulled Naruto up. He gave Chouji and Shikamaru a disapproving glare, as if the rain was their fault, before pulling Naruto through the door.

"What's your problem?" Naruto asked with a scowl. Sasuke stopped and gave Naruto a 'you're-the-one-who-has-a-problem' look.

"You're gonna get sick if you do stupid stuff like that" Sasuke explained. Stupid puppykitten. What had he been thinking? Now he was completely soaked.

"You're majorly underestimating me" Naruto declared. "I've been through way worse than that on my adventures. That was nothing." He added proudly. Sasuke looked very sceptical. he looked at Naruto's soggy state.

"How were you planning on attending your lessons like that?" He questioned. Naruto shrugged.

"I can deal with being a little wet for a while. I'm not a baby" Naruto insisted stubbornly. Sasuke shook his head. Baby, no. Puppykitten, yes. This wouldn't do.

"I can't let you stay in school like this" He said with a slight sigh. Naruto raised a brow.

"I don't remember making you the boss over me." Naruto pouted. He was beginning to feel complicated again. Sasuke was always so... caring... Naruto just begged the heavens to keep him from blushing.

"Stop being so stubborn." Sasuke absentmindedly said while he tapped away at his phone. He sighed again. He should have expected it to be tough to watch over a puppykitten. He clicked his tongue at Naruto.

"Look at you, you're getting all cold..." Sasuke said as he began rubbing Naruto's arms to give them some warmth. Naruto dropped a sweat. Sasuke was definitely odd... he was acting a little bit like an old lady.

"Come, we're going down. My chauffeur is waiting." Sasuke informed Naruto.

"I never said I would go with you" Naruto reminded Sasuke. Though it wasn't like he was completely against the idea... But still Sasuke was really taking him lightly with this bossy attitude of his. He was also surprised at the chauffeur part... was Sasuke that rich?

"And I never said that you have a choice" Sasuke said as he pulled Naruto along. Meh, Naruto thought. Why resist when he couldn't even wholeheartedly refuse? And hadn't he always wanted to do silly things like this with a friend? A small smile formed on his lips. He still felt a bit like he was dreaming. His new friends had come so suddenly. He wasn't used to them yet. All he knew was that he wanted to treasure every moment he could get with them... When they had gotten out of the school building, Sasuke quickly ushered Naruto into his car. Naruto gaped. It was the first time he had been in such a nice car.

"Your car will get wet..." Naruto worried. Sasuke shrugged.

"That's not a problem" He assured. Naruto then relaxed and leaned back. He wondered what Sasuke's house looked like. This was the first time he was going to a friends house... He couldn't help but grin. He knew that he looked goofy but he just couldn't help it. Sasuke felt a bit proud that Naruto was smiling. If he had a tail it would definitely be wagging right now.

It took about 15 minutes to drive to Sasuke's house... And it was HUGE. It made Naruto wonder how big his family was. Maybe he had many siblings? Sasuke pulled out the sodden blond from the car to his house. Naruto was busy with studying the exterior of the house. It had nicely crafted decorations on it and overall looked very impressive. The inside of the house wasn't disappointing either. It looked _e__xpenisve._ Naruto thought that it must feel wicked to live there. Sasuke probably felt totally rich.

"So this is my room" Sasuke said and Naruto returned to reality. Sasuke's room had a minimalistic look to it and was neat and clean. Naruto couldn't help but stare at everything. Sasuke smirked. It seemed like the puppykitten was excited to be in a new environment. He searched his closet for something for Naruto to wear. He decided on a black tee shirt and black sweats. Sasuke's clothes were mostly black.

"Here, you can change to this" Sasuke threw the bundle of clothes to the puppydog. Naruto managed to catch them. He looked incredulously at Sasuke.

"What?.. Here?" Naruto blurted out.

"Yes, is there a problem?" Sasuke asked as he began changing from his uniform. Naruto gulped and felt his heart beat faster.

"N-NO WHY WOULD THERE BE A PROBLEM?" He accidentally yelled due to his nerves. Sasuke stopped in the middle of unbuttoning his shirt. Naruto's cheeks turned a little pink.

"Stupid... Why did you yell?" Sasuke asked with an arched eyebrow. Naruto tried not to look at the bit of exposed skin on Sasuke's chest.

"I umm..." Naruto tried to find his speaking ability. Then Sasuke continued to unbutton his shirt. Daaaaamn. Naruto quickly turned around. He didn't want to change with Sasuke... It made him feel self-conscious...

"Do you need help?" Sasuke asked from behind him. Naruto spun around.

"W-WHAT?!" He yelled. "W-What are you saying?" Sasuke shook his heat at how incapable this puppykitten was.

"I'll help you" Sasuke said and began unbuttoning Naruto's white school shirt. Naruto froze.

"s-stop..." He tried to sound convincing but failed. His internal embarrassment charts were going berserk. "S-STOP IT Y-YOU MOLESTER!" He yelled as a last resort. He felt disoriented. His brain wasn't getting enough oxygen or something like that. Sasuke covered Naruto's mouth with his hand.

"Stop yelling weird stuff in my house" he hissed. He hadn't even checked if someone was home. He would probably die of embarrassment if his parents were home. Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes. They were so deep... Sasuke suddenly flinched when the door opened. Naruto turned and saw Sasuke with long hair walk in.

"Sasuke, are you molesting Naruto again?" Sasuke with long hair smirked in amusement. Sasuke scowled.

"No" came the grumpy answer. "I was just helping him change" Sasuke explained matter-of-factly. Sasuke with long hair chuckled.

"Yes... Because changing is after a very difficult task" He teased before leaving. Sasuke cursed under his breath. Naruto felt a little guilty for freaking out like that... again.

"Sorry Sasuke... I just... It's hard to change when... Uhh... When you're here" Naruto mumbled. Sasuke blinked. Was that all? He was a little shy, so what?

"I'll wait outside then." Sasuke said and walked out. Naruto heaved out a breath of relief. That was... complicated. Why did Sasuke render him to such a state? Naruto shook his head. It wasn't like him to act like this. Even he was more level headed. Naruto quickly changed into the dry clothes and opened the door for Sasuke to come in. He told Naruto sit down on the couch, which he did and along with Sasuke.

"Are you cold?" Naruto shook his head.

"Good."

"…" Naruto didn't know what to say. Sasuke made him nervous.

"When did you get your tattoo?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly. He thought that they should at least speak about something.

"Tattoo? You mean on my stomach?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded.

"I've had it for as long as I can remember... So I just think of it as a really freaky birthmark" Naruto answered. Sasuke raised a brow. Was it possible to have such a complex birthmark? But Sasuke didn't think Naruto made it up.

"Odd" He finally said. Naruto nodded. This silence was so heaaavy... Naruto gulped. He gingerly peeked at Sasuke. His skin was so pale and looked so smooth... Naruto swallowed. He wanted to be kissed by those lips. Now. Right NOW. But Sasuke did not kiss him. He just sat there, oblivious to Naruto's wants.

"... Do you have someone you like, Sasuke?" Naruto hesitantly asked. Sasuke looked contemplative.

"… Kind of, but it's complicated" Sasuke frowned slightly. Naruto's eyes lit up. Complicated? Naturo felt complicated, then could Sasuke perhaps..?

"Is it someone I know?" Naruto pressed on. Sasuke nodded. Naruto's heard skipped a beat.

"You know her pretty well I think" Sasuke revealed. Her? HER? It was a SHE? Dammit. Naruto inwardly punched someone too a bloody pulp. Wow, this conversation really did wonders for his mood. But it wasn't like he had expected Sasuke to like _him_ still... Naruto wanted to hit himself. Why was he so needy of a person he barely knew? That just didn't make sense. Despite thinking that, Naruto wanted to know more.

"Wow, who is it?" Naruto smiled naturally... Well he tried to. He just might have ended up looking slightly loopy. Sasuke didn't see though as he looked away. He felt embarrassed to confess this. But if he couldn't even tell a puppykitten, he wasn't much of a man now was he?

"… Petunia" He muttered.

"Please repeat that one more time Sasuke, I don't think I heard you correctly" Naruto said with a smile.

"Pe-tu-ni-a" Sasuke spelled out each syllable. Naruto blanched. WHAT? Sasuke liked PETUNIA? He honestly had no, no idea whatsoever just how to react to that... This was... making Naruto feel perturbed.

"YOU LIKE PETUNIA?" As usual when Naruto failed to sort out his feelings, he yelled. "PETUNIA?" He added in disbelief. He thought about the woman. The hair bun. The scowl. Her age. Sasuke snorted.

"What? I think she's fantastic" He said. Naruto stared at him incredulously. Fantastic? Petunia? Naruto frowned. It wasn't like he was the one to judge the attractiveness of women... Because he _wasn't_ attracted to them... But seriously, Petunia? Woman or not... The fundamental issue was her personality wasn't it? But Sasuke seemed to be serious. Naruto buried his head in his hands. Please let this be a dream...! he begged. How could he look at Petunia the same way after this?

The two boys sat in silence after that conversation. Naruto fell into an eventful sleep after a while. When Sasuke woke him up a few hours had already passed.

"Do you want to eat with us?" Sasuke asked. Us? Naruto thought. Who were 'us'?

"I don't know... who are you?" Naruto sleepily mumbled. Sasuke frowned.

"What are you talking about? I'm Sasuke" He deadpanned.

"No... I mean the rest of you" Naruto yawned.

"My family" Sasuke filled in.

"Oh your fam-" Naruto's eyes opened wide. He wasn't ready to get introduced to the parents! He hadn't even told Iruka about their relationship yet... Oh wait. _That_ had just been a dream. Sasuke liked _Petunia_. As it seemed like Naruto wasn't about to answer him, Sasuke just pulled him along downstairs.

"I brought him down Mom" Sasuke called to the dining room and brought a struggling Naruto in with him.

"Wonderful, now show me your new-… friend" Mikoto gasped and dropped the plate she was carrying when she saw Naruto. What a twist of fate, Mikoto couldn't help but think...

* * *

**Author's note**

Well, how was it? I think this chappy was my biggest child so far. Don't judge my children to harshly, ok? Their intentions are good. Hahahah. Sorry for that, I'm just a really big fan of my own sense of humour x3

Feel free to review, favorite, follow, or do nothing of the previous alternatives! ;D Have a nice day kids~~

~LovePeppermint


	5. Chapter 5

Here I am with chapter 5! And before I say anything else, I need to point out that I have made a _mistake_. I wrote in earlier chapters that the age gap between Itachi and Sasuke was five years and said that Itachi is 21. In a later chapter I wrote that Sasuke is 17. As you can tell, that is a gap of four years... So keep in mind that in this fic they are _four _years apart. :P

And thanks for your continued reading and appreciation of this!

* * *

Mikoto stared at the two boys in front of her. She couldn't help but think about a memory from many years ago.

_"Miko, wouldn't it be great if our sons also become good friends?"_

"..om.. Mom!" Mikoto was abruptly pulled back into reality by Sasuke's calling. He looked at her with a worried frown.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Mikoto blinked away the tears that threatened to escape.

"I was just a bit dizzy, nothing to worry about" She smiled at her son. He nodded while still remaining doubtful. "I'll go get the broom..." Mikoto added and quickly left the room. When she had escaped back to the kitchen she muffled a sob with a slender hand. She supported herself on her working bench with the other. Tears dripped down on it and her long silky hair hung down, effectively hiding her face. As her sobs increased she slid down to the floor.

"Please forgive me Kushina..." She whispered with a tremble into her knees and bit her lower lip. Her nails dug into her jeans. "I'm so sorry" She sobbed. Lonely on the cold kitchen floor.

Fugaku was on his way to the dining room when he heard his wife's trembling sobs. With a frown he walked into the kitchen.

"Mikoto..." He uttered in surprise when he saw her sitting on the floor, crying whilst hugging her knees, her hair looking dishevelled. He quickly sat down in front of in front of her and gently took a hold of her soft hands. "… What happened, Mikoto?" Fugaku tried his hardest to sound as soft as he possibly could. He was well aware that it wasn't his forte, but it tore him to see his beloved like this. She looked up at him. Her midnight eyes shimmered with tears. Even like this with a tear stained face Fugaku found her more beautiful than a starry night.

"Oh Fugaku..." Mikoto cried and shifted to cling onto him. He embraced her protectively.

…

In the dining room, Sasuke glanced worriedly at the door. His mother took a long time just to get a broom. He looked at the broken pieces of glass. What had really happened? Naruto looked at him through half-lidded eyes. He was sitting on a chair opposite to Sasuke's. Naruto hugged his knees and buried his head. He felt tired after everything today. His fight with Kiba, his crying, and Sasuke iduced blushing. And now this had happened.

"I'm sorry" Sasuke turned to Naruto after he'd heard his muffled words.

"For what?" He snapped. Sasuke was not in a mood to control his voice. When he was worried he tended to sound bitter. Naruto winced at his tone. Sasuke was probably angry at him.

"I think this is my fault... most people don't like me so... I..."

"Don't think of my mother as such a lowly person!" Sasuke growled with a glare. Naruto flinched. That hadn't been his intention. He didn't see Sasuke's mother as a bad person at all. She looked kind actually... Naruto had just assumed that she dropped the plate and left because she was surprised that Sasuke'd friend was the local monster. Naruto sighed heavily.

Both teens looked up when the door opened. Naruto felt slightly disappointed when it only was Sasuke with long hair. Sasuke glared at Itachi.

"Mother is feeling tired so I'll take you out to dinner instead" He informed them. Sasuke's glare turned into worry.

"What's wrong with her?" Sasuke asked.

"Father said it is simply her blood pressure." Itachi explained. Sasuke nodded with a sigh. He felt a bit worried still, but if his father had sad it was alright... It couldn't be too far from the truth. The Uchiha family had a policy that they would share their troubles with each other and rely on each other. It was formed about six years ago due to a family crisis and it had by the way apparently done wonders on Sasuke's personality. Sasuke however, felt that the biggest change had been from his father. He had warmed up to his sons and became more approachable, which in turn made Sasuke feel more at ease in talking to him. Now that his worry had eased Sasuke glanced at Naruto and felt a little guilty. He had done the puppykitten upset again.

"Let's go, Naruto" Sasuke actually made an effort to sound friendly. Naruto looked up with a hopeful look. Sasuke sounded like he wasn't angry anymore. Naruto scrathed the back of his head. He reallly needed to get used to Sasuke's mood swings. He felt a smile tugging on his lips. With that solved they made their way to Itachi's car. After a couple of minutes of sitting in silence, Naruto felt like he just _had_ to ask. He _needed_ to know.

"Sasuke..." Naruto stealthaly whispered. Sasuke gave him a questioning look. "who is that?" Naruto asked as quietly as he could and pointed at Sasuke with long hair. Itachi, who of course heard, tried to act nonchalant in spite of wanting to chuckle. Sasuke's jaw nearly dropped. Naruto had met Itachi a few times already, why was he suddenly unaware of who he was. _How_ could he be this stupid?

"How can you not know who he is?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. Naruto raised his eyebrows.

"_Well_, Sasuke... You see, you never really introduced him. And I waited for you to do that, but it didn't seem like you would, so I asked." Naruto cheekily answered. With a frown Sasuke thought back on the times Naruto and Itachi had met. He had indeed never introduced Itachi. Itachi hadn't even introtuduced himself. Sasuke felt slightly stupid. How could he have forgotten to introduce his own brother? He could imagine that Itachi was laughing a lot mentally. They always made fun of each other when they made blunders like this. Not that Itachi ever made any.

"He's my brother Itachi." Sasuke muttered. Naruto made an 'aaah, that makes sense' face.

"Your brother's pretty cool Sasuke" Naruto then whispered to him. Sasuke huffed as he repressed a laughter. If only Naruto knew that Itachi heard everything. While Sasuke thought about how funny that would be, Itachi parked the car. He had chosen a simple Japanese restaurant. Naruto felt a bit nervous. This would be the first time he ate out with someone other than Iruka. After looking over the menue they ordered their orders were like this: both Naruto and Sasuke wanted meat, so they both ordered yakiniku. Itachi ordered a small portion of Sushi. With his nervousness somehow defeated by his hunger, Naruto stuffed himself as he usually did when he was treated to food. Sasuke ate with more poise. Itachi ate his food at a slow pace. By the time Naruto had managed to satisfy his stomach he had still not finished. Sasuke glanced at him.

"Itachi. Why did you order if you weren't going to eat?" Sasuke's question came out slightly harshly. His eyes met Itachi's calm ones.

"It seems I don't have much of an appetite at the moment" He answered with a small smile. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. That phrase was familiar. Itachi had claimed that yesterday as well... Maybe his mother had been right and Itachi was getting ill.

"Maybe you're getting ill" Sasuke suggested.

"Perhaps." Itachi smiled. Naruto looked from one brother to the other. It seemed so nice to have a brother. To worry about each other like that... Naruto felt a little stinging in his heart but ignored it.

"Ughhh I'm so fulllll" He groaned and leaned back in his chair. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him.

"Take the discomfort you're feeling as a lesson not to stuff yourself again." He smirked. Naruto stuck out his tongue at him. As he lazily looked around the room he noticed the clock that was on the wall. He froze. It was already half past eight. Naruto started wringing his hands as he stared at it.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked as he noticed Naruto's expression change suddenly. Naruto hesitantly looked at Sasuke.

"I... need... I need to go back to the orphanage" He timidly said while looking anxious. Sasuke frowned. What was with that sudden change in his personality?

"Okay" He said and stood up. They were done eating anyways. The silence in the ride to the orphange was not a comfortable one. Naruto didn't say anything. He just absentmindedly wringed his hands. It triggered Sasuke's concern. _That_, was a nervous habit. What was it that had turned Naruto so nervous all of a sudden? Sasuke found it peculiar. Nothing special had happened in the restaurant.

"Bye Sasuke... and Itachi..." Naruto gave a faint smile as he hurried out of the cars. Sasuke watched as he disappeared into the misty garden. The darkness outside made the usually cosy and inviting building with the beautiful garden look eerily spooky instead. As Itachi drove them away Sasuke kept having a bad feeling about this.

…

The first thing Sasuke did when he got to school the next moring was search for Naruto. He had been worried since yesterday. Hopefully he was just paranoid and Naruto was fine. But a little voice in his persisted on telling him that he _wasn't_ alright. Sasuke felt extremely inefficient as he wandered about without even knowing where Naruto's locker was. He hadn't even Naruto's friends anywhere. With his time running out, Sasuke decided to go to his lesson and search again at lunch. When he entered the classroom his eyes met Kiba's. Kiba for some reason looked away tiredly. Was he still sulking? Sasuke thought that he needed to ask him about that later. But that would be _after_ he had found Naruto and confirmed that he was ok. Sasuke sighed. He still felt there was something very uncanny about the eeriness of the orphanage last night.

After much impatient waiting it was finally lunch. Sasuke quickly went in the direction of the first place he would check. The roof. That was the likeliest place to find hime seeing as he seemed to have moved there with his friends. He briefly wondered how one of them made his hair made his hair look like a pineapple, but quickly remembered that now was not the time. He hurried up the steps and slammed the door open. Panting due to exertion. Empty. Sasuke walked out further. It was empty... He immediately felt his worry rise and almost, _almost_ jumped when he heard the creaking of the door opening. In walked three first years. Naruto looked to be in as good of a condition as he usually was.

"Hey Sasuke" Naru smiled while seeming a bit surprised to find him there. Sasuke felt a weight lift from his shoulders. "Did you want to eat lunch with us? Naruto asked as he sat down at his usual spot. He did his best to behave like a normal person when he in reality had this weird yearning to just run up to that moody bastard and hug the living daylights out of him. Did this always happen to people when they had a crush on someone? Sasuke pulled himself together perfectly when he realised that it had only been his cursed paranoia playing with his mind.

"No I just came here for a breath of fresh of air." Sasuke said as he began walking to the door. Naruto nodded in understanding. What he really wanted to do was to reach out for his hand and tell him not to go. He wanted to feed Sasuke, or for Sasuke to feed him. He just wanted to be closer. But it didn't matter what Naruto wished for. Because Sasuke liked _Petunia_ and Naruto wasn't _Petunia_.

"And just a reminder," Sasuke stopped himself at the door. "You're not allowed to be up here" He reminded them teasingly. As a class president he had special permission.

"If they really didn't want us up here, they would lock the door, don't you think?" Naruto cleverly retorted.

"They do" Shikamaru interjected. "I'm just really good at picking locks" He stated plainly. Naruto gave him a surprised look. He had not known that. Sasuke shook his head at Naruto's lack of awareness of his surroundings before he left them. Now all he had left was ask Kiba what it was that troubled the usually loud punk. That turned out to be easier said than done due to unexpected events happening. Sasuke couldn't find him in the cafeteria, he wasn't by his locker... Sasuke felt his headache come. It was irritating to wander around in the school like this, but still Sasuke did it because he was such a good person. For Kiba's sake Sasuke hoped that his reason to be moping was good. Or else Sasuke would be really annoyed. Suddenly the ear-splitting noise of the fire alarm was heard. Sasuke was sure he felt a vein pop in his head. Bitterly he left the building while muttering death threats under his breath. Outside students were gathering to be marked present by their homeroom teacher. Sasuke snorted. His homeroom teacher was the one who wouldn't be present. Because he would be late. And when he arrived he would look like a complete idiot because he still sported the pirate look. Sasuke was this close to walking to his car right then and there but luckily, Kakashi's substitute Yamato arrived just in time. Sasuke didn't dislike Yamato. Yamato had order and was punctual. And wasn't reading inappropriate books during class. He quickly and efficiently marked them all and dismissed them for the day. Sasuke was about to walk over to Kiba but then he noticed that the bastard must have evaporated, because he was no longer where Sasuke had FINALLY found him. Deciding that Kiba was a stupid idiot who wasn't worth his time Sasuke stomped to his car. He would take a long warm bath when he came home. Perhaps he would even add some relaxing essential oils. Just the thought of it made Sasuke relax slightly. Thank god for aroma therapy. To raise his mood further he decided that he would give Kiba a good punch next time he saw him. He smirked to himself. What was this? 'Rebellious period - The Comeback?'

…

Naruto gulped before entering the orphanage. He felt a cold sweat. Last night when he had gotten home nothing had happened. Nobody had said or done anything. That made him worry about what would happen now. He gathered his courage and opened the door. As usual he headed straight to his room. He felt a sense of relief when he saw that _she_ wasn't there. Naruto changed from his school uniform into something more comfortable. He was about to begin doing his homework when he was abruptly stopped by the sound of the door squeaking. Naruto stiffened.

"Where were you last night?" The stone hard voice of the top matron filled the room. Naruto swallowed.

"I was with a friend... I'm sorry, I forgot about the time..!" Naruto tensely explained. He wasn't allowed to be outside when it was dark outside. She looked at him emotionlessly.

"A friend?" She questioned. "A demon like you is neither capable of having nor allowed to have... _a friend_" She emphasized the last words as if to mock him. Naruto backed away until he hit a wall his eyes were open wide as his breathing quickened. He had feared this woman since he was a child. She was the boogeyman.

…

Naruto was lying under his warm comforting covers when he heard a feeble knocking on his door. It must be Dolly, he concluded. She never knocked harder than that. Naruto guessed it was out of fear that he might attack her or something like that, since he 'was a demon' after all.

"Y-you have a visitor" She nervously informed him. Naruto made a tired frown. A visitor? He wondered if it was Sasuke. With a lot of effort he managed to get out of bed. He hissed at the pain. He really hated that stupid stick. With a tired scowl he opened his door. Dolly jumped.

"He's waiting outside..." She said fearfully and scurried away. Naruto sighed. Poor Dolly. She always had to feel scared because of him. When Naruto opened the mahogany door he was certainly not expecting to see _him._

"Kiba?" Naruto asked in confusion. Why was he going out of his way to beat him up when he could easily do it at school tomorrow? He wondered.

"Hi... Naruto" He said. Naruto gave him a confused look. Kiba turned down to the ground and kicked on some dirt. "I've been doing a lot of thinking... and" Kiba gritted his teeth. "and have realised that I've been a complete jerk." He said with remorse in his voice. "I'm sorry" He said and looked up to meet Naruto's eyes. "I'm sorry." He repeated himself earnestly. Naruto felt small droplets of rain hit his face. He walked down the steps and locked eyes with Kiba. Kiba felt his guilt rise as he remembered Naruto's eyes a couple of days ago.

"You're not such a bad guy after all huh." Naruto said with a smile. "I accept you apology" He added and gave Kiba a pat on the shoulder. This guy had been bothering him for years but none of that mattered now, because Naruto could tell that Kiba really did regret it. Kiba looked touched.

"I guess I should apologize as well... because you don't... smell like manure. Sorry" Naruto grinned. Kiba laughed. Most people wouldn't be this openhearted. And he had been treating Naruto like shit. Way to go, Kiba. He thought to himself. Naruto suddenly felt the need to sit down, he felt a bit dizzy and exhausted. He backed slightly and sat down on one of the steps. He winced at the pain in legs that came from using his leg muscles.

"Are you okay?" Kiba asked.

"Yes, I'm fine I'm just... tired" Naruto said as he leaned his head on the cool railing. Kiba frowned slightly. He didn't look fine. He looked pale and weak... which was definitely different from usual.

"You sure?" Kiba tried. Naruto shook his head tiredly. When had he ever been fine?

"What's wrong then?" Kiba inquired. He was after all a year older than Naruto so he had a responsibility in situations like these.

"'m jus tiredofthis" Naruto slurred. Kiba wondered what to do... Naruto seemed be loosing consciousness. As any clever boy would, he came to the conclusion that he should ask his mother. She was a vet and that was good enough. With newfound determination he settled Naruto on his back and began walking home.

"Mom, I've got a patient for ya" Kiba yelled as he entered the house. A gang of dogs welcomed him. His mother Tsume came out from the living room. Her hair had the same brown nuance as her son and she looked somewhat wild, almost like she had been a free and beautiful wolf in a previous life. She saw the _human_ on his back and furrowed her brows.

"He was losing his consciousness and I didn't know where else to take him." Kiba explained quickly. She looked at him sceptically.

"You know, son, in this world there are doctors who specialise in treating humans" She broke the news to him. Kiba rolled his eyes.

"I know that!" Kiba barked. "Come on, just take a look at him, please? I owe him majorly" Kiba asked seriously. His mother gave in with a sigh.

"Oh well, seems like I have no choice." She said. She had recognised who the boy was, and was frankly a bit surprised albeit proud that Kiba was treating him decently. Kiba carried him into the investigation room. He decided to stay because he had always liked watching her work. Kiba looked as his mother did some things he didn't understand. Then he saw her frown. Then he saw her beginning to undress Naruto. He blinked.

"Gee, mom, you should at least wait until he's 18. You don't want the police after you, right?" He teased with a big grin. His mother brushed him off. She was used to this. What she wanted to focus her attention on was changing the kid from his wet clothes.

"Kiba, you should also go change. Your clothes are wet" She gav him a _look_. Kiba gulped and stood.

"Did you find out what's wring with him?" Kiba asked worriedly before leaving. His mother smiled reassuringly.

"He's just a bit anemic" She said. With that, Kiba left the room. When he had left Tsume looked at the boys exposed torso. She frowned at the newly made bruises. This child must've had it rough. But she was sure that he could survive this. He was after all _his_ son. She smiled slightly as memories she hadn't thought about for years surfaced.

"Why did your parents need to die?" She softly asked the sleeping boy and caressed his cheek lightly.

_"I bet our kids will look adorable together" _

A happy memory from a time long ago.

* * *

This chappy wasn't too long, but still quite eventful. I think. Anyhow, congratulations that you've made it this far. Here's a hug for you *hugs* and just so you know I'm pouting right now because I miss Shikamaru and want more Neji. Well boo hoo. Hopefully my mind will cooperate with my heart and write them more.

Have a lovely day~~ :D

LovePeppermint


	6. Chapter 6

Hello again. Here's chapter six :)

In case you were wondering, Petunia and the top matron are **not** the same person. I think it might've been confusing... I'm sorry if I was unclear about that :/

Have a nice read :)

* * *

"Dei... _Dei_... It's me. I need you... _please_?"

A young man with long blond hair scowled as he listened to the message on his phone. It sounded like he should head to Konoha soon.

…

Have you ever felt like you're still dreaming even though you've already woken up? That's how Naruto felt when he woke up. He thought that it must have been a dream because he swore this wasn't his room. He did not have dogs on his wallpaper. _His_ wallpaper was a pale blue. With no dogs. Naruto sat up confusedly when he heard muffled voices from outside of the room.

"What the hell is he doing in your house?!"

"Don't yell, you'll wake him up... I had no choice!"

"But why the heck did he sleep in your room?!"

"Because I was the one who brought him!"

"You can't just kidnap other people's pets like that!"

"What..?"

The door suddenly slammed open and Sasuke barged in. He looked absolutely enraged. Naruto gulped. He suddenly got the hint that this was not a part of his dream. On the contrary, this was a nightmare seeing as Naruto was for some reason clad only his boxers. Luckily he was still under his covers.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled angrily. Naruto jumped. "What do you think you're doing IN KIBA'S BED?!" He growled.

"IN KIBA'S WHAT?!" Naruto was shocked by Sasuke's claim.

"IN HIS BED, you... DIMWIT" Sasuke looked as if he could set something on fire with merely his glare.

"OH MY GOD" Naruto shrieked in horror. Everything suddenly fell into place... the dogs on the wallpaper. Kiba looked between the two. They were _loud_.

"Come here.." Sasuke muttered as he grabbed a hold of Naruto's wrist and pulled him off the bed. Naruto made a mortified gasp. Sasuke's left eye twitched. And he felt a vein pop.

"WHY IS HE ONLY WEARING UNDERWEAR AND WHAT ARE THOSE BRUISES WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HIM YOU... YOU SNEAKY WORM I WILL PUNCH YOU!" Sasuke looked ready to kill Kiba. Kiba put himself in a defensive stance. Despite the impending danger he could not help but wonder if Sasuke had gone to Neji for advice on insults.

"He looked hot so I didn't want to put clothes on him!" He defended himself. Sasuke stared at him in shock. His eye twitched again. Naruto stopped in his struggle to free himself from Sasuke's strong grip and gaped at Kiba.

"… What?" Sasuke uttered skeptically. Kiba rolled his eyes.

"I said he looked hot so I didn't wa-" Kiba's eyes suddenly widened in realization. "I DID NOT MEAN IT LIKE THAT!" He shouted in outrage. Sasuke squinted as he glared at him.

"_Yeah sure_" Sasuke's voice dripped with sarcasm. He gave Kiba a look which implyed he thought he was the most lecherous human alive. Meanwhile, Naruto felt redder than a tomato because he stood only in his underwear in a room with two guys who in his opinion did look hot_ in that way_ and this was horribly embarrassing. Suddenly the door opened again. Tsume popped her head in.

"What are you yelling for?" She gave them a scary glare and left. Kiba gulped. His mother was a bit strict. And scary. Sasuke blinked. It struck him that he had just displayed a very un-Uchiha like behaviour. He sighed.

"Fine, I'll believe you." He said to Kiba. He turned to Naruto. "Naruto let's g-" He frowned. "Are you ok?" He asked. Naruto looked a bit flushed. Naruto stiffly nodded and tried his best not to die from embarrassment. Sasuke put a hand on Naruto's forehead.

"… Kiba, you were right. He is hot." Naruto felt his blush darken to an impossible level.

…

A couple of hours and a shower later Naruto was sitting with Sasuke on his couch. On the wayto his mansion Sasuke had explained that the school day was already over and Naruto had slept through it.

"How did you get those bruises?" Sasuke asked with a frown. Naruto pursed his lips. Hmmm, he thought. How would he explain this?

"I... Fell" Naruto mumbled. He wanted to roll his eyes at himself. That wasn't even remotely believeable, but he really couldn't come up with something better to say. Sasuke arched a brow. If that wasn't the most obvious lie he had heard he didn't know what was. He was worried that someone other than the newly reformed Kiba was bullying his puppykitten.

"Tell me, Naruto. I'll help you" He offered. Naruto furrowed his brows. Why did Sasuke have to ask? Why did Naruto hesitate to tell him? Sasuke had after all told him he would help him. Naruto thought about the head matron. His fear for her was rooted deep. He dug his fingers into his jeans. He wanted to tell Sasuke. Sasuke waited with concern. In an attempt to comfort him he put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto teared up. Sasuke's touch was so gentle... So careful and yet so strong. Naruto pulled at Sasuke's shirt and leaned his head on his chest. He could hear the sound of Sasuke's heartbeat. It had a comforting steady rhythm.

"I'm lonely" Naruto quietly admitted with a lump in his throat. Sasuke looked at the hand desperately clinging onto the fabric of his shirt. "And I'm scared" Naruto snivelled with a trembling voice. Sasuke felt Naruto's hot tears on his shirt. He bit his lip at his own uselessness. How could he comfort Naruto? He didn't know. Naruto took a shaking breath. He closed his eyes and focused on the Sasuke's warmth. He had never been close to someone like this. Sasuke began stroking his hair.

"You're not alone" He said softly. "I'm here" He assured Naruto. Tears escaped Naruto's eyes once again by the power of Sasuke's words and actions. How could that moody bastard even be this safe and calming?

"Please hold me" Naruto whispered. He wanted to feel more of this warmth. Sasuke was surprised for a moment before he did as he was asked. Naruto sobbed. How long had he wanted to be held like this? How many times had he wished for someone to protect him? He tightened his grip on Sasuke's shirt. He didn't want this to stop. He would feel so cold now that he knew what it felt like to be warm. Naruto let out another sob. He didn't want to leave this dream and wake up in the orphanage. He would freeze to death. He had finally found his light in the dark tunnel. Sasuke didn't know what to do when Naruto's crying intesified. He instinctively tightened the embrace.

"I don't want to leave" Naruto whimpered. "I don't want to go back" He cried. Sasuke felt his eyes get a little wet. Naruto seemed so desperate. He thought about how he was treated at the orphanage. It was almost like they didn't believe he had feelings like the rest of them. How could people be so cruel to somebody as pure as Naruto? Naruto didn't have any evil intent towards anyone, so how could they call him a demon? Sasuke didn't want Naruto to go back to that awful place either, but what could he do? How could he save Naruto?

"I don't want you to leave..." Sasuke said sadly. Naruto whimpered. Suddenly a thought struck Sasuke. Did he get the bruises at the orphanage?

"Did they hurt you?" Sasuke asked carefully. He felt a very slight nod. Sasuke clenched his teeth in anger. He needed to come to a solution. He didn't want his puppykitten to suffer any more. But the only way to get him out of there was to adopt him, and Sasuke obviously couldn't do that. He couldn't do that but... but... It was really an absurd idea but maybe his parents could? Sasuke highly doubted it but still. Naruto was crying.. and lonely. Sasuke remembered how lonely he had been before the Uchiha family's reform. Naruto's loneliness could only be worse.

"Naruto... I need to go downstairs for a while, but I'll come back really soon okay?" Sasuke said tenderly. Naruto tightened his grip briefly before letting go. Sasuke gave him a final pat on the head before leaving. Naruto wiped away his tears. The inevitable separation had come quicker than Naruto had hoped. He took a deep breath. It wasn't fair of him to depend on Sasuke like this. Sasuke deserved better, Naruto condemned himself as he lay down on the couch to rest. He felt cold.

Sasuke walked downstairs to the living room. His parents were sitting there, having their daily chat with a cup of tea. It was another policy formed six years ago after _that_ incident. It might seem weird that they had to make rules in order to show their caring to each other, but Uchiha's kept to themselves by nature and were ordered and structured. Therefore, it made sense to make it a rule to spend time with each other. Mikoto smiled at his son when he came in.

"You don't look too good, did something happen?" She asked as he sat down on a chair. Sasuke nodded. He wondered how they would take this. He braced himself.

"I want to adopt Naruto" He blurted.

"I told you he wanted to adopt a pet" Itachi came in with impeccable timing as usual with a smirk. Sasuke's eyes threw daggers at him. Mikoto grabbed Sasuke's hand. Sasuke turned back to her. She had a slightly surprised look.

"Honey... Your father and I have discussed that very topic these last few days" She revealed. Sasuke raised his eyebrows. Yes, both of them. That's how surprised he was.

"What...?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. He looked at his father in case his mother was just joking or something. He nodded in confirmation. Sasuke's heart raced. They were already considering it? He didn't know why, but frankly the reason didn't matter right now.

"We have been thinking about it" Mikoto said.

"You have to!" Sasuke urged. Itachi looked at them from a corner in the room. He had his suspicions concerning his parents' reasons. Itachi clenched and unclenched his hands a few times. He would rather not think about the past.

"Maybe we really should..." Sasuke could tell that his mother was troubled. Fugaku held her hand in support. She smiled lightly at him.

"What do you think Itachi?" She smiled at her eldest son. Itachi's eyes flickered away from her.

"Whatever you wish, mother" He smiled with a hint of sadness. She felt a pang in her heart.

"In that case, we'll contact the Haven tomorrow" She decided. Yes. This was the right thing to do. This was what she should have done years ago. Sasuke leaned back in relief. Now Naruto could be safe and happy. And he would officially become _his_ puppykitten.

"I'll go tell him" Sasuke said and hurried out of the room. Sasuke eagerly opened the door to his room only to see that Naruto had already fallen asleep. How cute, Sasuke thought. He fetched a blanked and put it over him so that he wouldn't be cold in his sleep. The news could wait until tomorrow.

…

Itachi tiredly slumped down tiredly on his large vintage armchair. He supported his head with his right hand as he took several deep breaths. He wanted to relax. He released his hair from his hair tie. He leaned back to rest his head on the back of the chair. His finger curled on the armrests. His mind was racing with unpleasant memories as he sat in his dimly lit room. He pursed his lips. He needed control. He needed it. He needed it. He _needed_ it. Itachi tugged lightly at his sleeves with his thin pale fingers.

…

"Wake up Naruto, we'll be late for school" Naruto tiredly opened his eyes. Where was he..? Oh, he remembered. He was at Sasuke's house. "You don't have time to lie down, we overslept" Sasuke said as he put on his uniform shirt.

"Hmm?" Naruto sat up. Sasuke snorted at Naruto's bedhead. He didn't know it was possible for it look messier than it normally did. "I don't have my uniform..." Naruto sleepily mumbled.

"It's ok, you can take my spare" Sasuke threw it at him before neatly packing his bag in a hurry. He couldn't believe he had overslept. That hadn't happened in years. "You really need to hurry up though, if we don't leave in five minutes we'll be late and I won't allow that because I'm an Uchiha. I'll wait outside while you change" Sasuke said before disappearing out the door. Naruto blinked. He had caught about half of that. Nevertheless, he changed into Sasuke's uniform. A process which almost caused him to fall over twice. He had poor balance sometimes when he woke up. Still slightly disoriented he exited the room where Sasuke stood with a big smile. Naruto frowned. It looked a bit weird because Sasuke usually didn't do that.

"m ready" Naruto declared hazily. Sasuke shook his head at him before pulling him out of the house and into his car. His chauffeur rapidly began driving. Naruto started to look a bit more awake. He was boggled at the fact that he had slept so soundly... he didn't even remember falling asleep yesterday. By the time they had gotten to school he had woken up completely. Sasuke and Naruto quickly hurried to their classrooms. When Naruto entered his Shikamaru raised a brow at him.

"Did you shrink while you were away?" He asked. Naruto frowned.

"Why would you think that?" He asked suspiciously. He hoped he didn't look even shorter all of a sudden.

"Because suddenly your uniform's too big" Shikamaru remarked. Naruto looked down. Damn. It really was too big. Stupid Sasuke for being stupid and tall.

"It's not mine, it's Sasuke's" Naruto explained. Chouji whistled at this.

"I thought he bullied you" he said. Naruto shook his head.

"It only happened once... And he apologised. Sasuke is really kind actually" Naruto smiled softly. He leaned his chin on his hands as he recalled yesterday. He remembered the way Sasuke had held him. He thought about his comforting heartbeat. He grinned. That was some progress indeed. Naruto sighed. That would have been a great moment for them to kiss. He sighed happily. The moment had been great even without it.

"Naruto sure is happy today" Chouji said while munching on something. Shikamaru nodded. He wondered if Naruto realised how obvious he was being. "But why is he wearing Sasuke's uniform?" Chouji added. Shikamaru shrugged.

…

"Sasuke" Kiba whispered during their lesson. Sasuke turned to him.

"What?" He hissed.

"I just remembered, yesterday you said something about me kidnapping a pet... What the heck was that about?" Kiba asked.

"Naruto, who else?" Sasuke scoffed. Kiba made a face.

"How the heck is he your pet?" He wondered.

"Well he's not officially mine yet, but he will be soon" Sasuke explained. Kiba was flabbergasted.

"…"

"… Sasuke?" Kiba whispered.

"What?" Sasuke hissed again. He was trying to actually do the assignment they had gotten.

"Are you gay?" Kiba quietly asked. Sasuke raised a brow.

"What makes you think that?" He asked. Kiba shut his mouth.

"Never mind..." He mumbled. He tried to figure out how to interpret the conversation they just had. No matter how he looked at it, he came to the conclusion that Sasuke was going a bit kooky. Or a lot. He just didn't know. Whatever made him happy... As the lesson was almost at it's end their teacher cleared his throat.

"Before you leave, remember to take one of these papers" Kakashi said as he waved one of them in the air. To Sasuke it just looked like pirate who had given up on life and was waving the white flag. Kakashi's lazy voice added to that impression. "It has information on the upcoming school trip" Kakashi added before dismissing them. Sasuke sighed. School trips were annoying because they caused his fans to become even more high-spirited.

"I'm so excited about the school trip... We can sneak to the girls and spy on them while they change~" Kiba said to Sasuke with a slight drool. Sasuke snorted. He would never do something so unbefitting of an Uchiha. Sure, he had done many un-Uchiha like things lately, but he wasn't going to do more willingly.

"You'll need to find someone else to do it with you." He informed the poor brunet. Kiba sighed. He had sort of been expecting that.

"I'll ask Neji." He said. Sasuke scoffed at him.

"You do realise that he'll beat you up if you do that. If you as much as imply that you are going to a place where _Hinata_ might be changing, he will gauge your eyes out." Sasuke pointed out. Kiba gulped. Sasuke did have a point. And Hinata was the one he wanted to look at the most. The problem was that Hinata was Neji's younger cousin and he was _a bit_ protective of her.

"Good point" Kiba said. "Oh and by the way, should we ask Naruto sit with us at lunch?" Kiba suggested since he still wanted to atone for his behaviour.

"I bet he already has arrangements" Sasuke answered as he thought of how the puppykitten practically lived on the roof.

"Too bad" Kiba said.

…

"Naruto!" Sasuke caught up with him after school. "I'll walk with you to the orphanage" He said. Naruto smiled.

"Okay" Naruto said as he continued to his path through the woods. Sasuke looked around himself. This footpath was really beautiful. As they walked Sasuke found himself wondering how long the adoption process was. He wanted to take Naruto home with him straight away. It would surely not take long though, considering that it was the Uchihas who wanted to adopt him. Sasuke had also decided to stop volunteering at the orphanage. He had already prepared a farewell letter to Petunia. Their time together had been short, but he still treasured it.

"You should sleep over at my house again" Sasuke suggested. Naruto frowned.

"It's sort of... against the rules" He said.

"Rules don't apply to Uchihas" Sasuke said blatantly. "So if I say you're sleeping over, it's perfectly allowed." He added with a smirk. Naruto smiled hesitantly.

"Alright then" He agreed. They walked into the orphanage. Sasuke followed Naruto to his room like a shadow. Naruto dropped a sweat. Why was Sasuke looking at everyone so suspiciously?

"I need to leave something to Petunia... Pack what you need and then we'll go."Sasuke said and walked away. Naruto frowned slightly. Did Sasuke really like Petunia? Naruto sighed as he prepared himself. Why couldn't Sasuke like _him_? It could have been love at first sight or something? Was Naruto just in the friend zone? Naruto didn't understand Sasuke. He was so protective of him and so gentle. Was he like that with all of his friends? Maybe that was normal. It wasn't like Naruto was used to having friends.

"Petunia" Sasuke said when he entered the kitchen.

"What is it?" She smiled at him. Sasuke avoided her gaze.

"Here" He said and offered her the letter. "This will explain everything..." He said before quickly leaving. She looked after the boy in confusion.

"Naruto, let's go" Sasuke said when had come back from Petunia. Naruto nodded and grabbed his bag. It caught Sasuke's eyes. He decided that he would need to buy a new one for him. That one was too bedraggled. When they got into the car it was silent. Naruto looked deep in thought so Sasuke found it best not to bother him.

"Sasuke..." Naruto broke the silence after a while. "Why do you care so much about me? You haven't even known me for long." Naruto said while looking at his knees. Sasuke thought about it. It was true that this sort of thing was an unusual occurrence for Sasuke.

"I guess I just can't help it" Sasuke finally answered. Naruto looked up at him.

"You're kind, Sasuke" He said with a small smile. Sasuke blushed slightly. He wasn't used to embarrassing compliments like that. And since when did people think he was kind? They usually thought the opposite.

…

Itachi was lying on his bed with his headphones on. He was listening to Skylar Grey's Invisible. He stared up at his roof. He had always been intelligent. He had always understood more than other people his age. He had always seen things other people couldn't. To him, the world was much more complex. He could see more solutions and more problems than most. Yet he could never see enough. He wasn't enough.

Itachi stared up at his roof. It was grey. Grey was a nice colour. Not dark enough to be black and not bright enough to be white. He blinked slowly. He wondered if grey would rather be black or white. Wasn't it lonely to be neither? It was almost like being nowhere. Like being no one.

Itachi thought about people. People were judged by their achievements. Itachi was an achievement. He was someone to be proud about. But Itachi was also someone who needed to be hidden. Because he could turn white into black, but not black into white. He needed to be hidden because he couldn't be either of the two. He needed to be hidden because he couldn't be grey.

…

"Where's Itachi?" Sasuke asked Mikoto as they sat at the dinner table. Naruto was fiddling nervously at his napkin.

"He's feeling ill" She explained. Sasuke frowned. He was acting a bit off lately. Sasuke doubted that school was too stressful for him, because he was brilliant. What was it that bothered him? Naruto ate slowly. This was... so... Naruto didn't know how to describe it. Nerve-wracking? He was eating with Sasuke and his parents.

"Naruto" Mikoto said with a smile. Naruto looked up with her. His thoughts were frantic. "We have some news." She said. Sasuke looked at the exchange with anticipation. Naruto just looked confused. Mikoto looked at her husband.

"Mikoto and I want to adopt you" Fugaku revealed calmly.

"WHAT?!" Naruto accidentally yelled. he quickly covered his mouth. What was going on? Was he dreaming? Did he just hear that? Adopt? _Him_? Could this be real? Mikoto smiled.

"We want to adopt you" She repeated her husbands words. Naruto teared up slightly. He thought that he would never get to hear those words.

"What... Really?" He asked in confusion. They nodded. Naruto swallowed. He bit his trembling lip before taking a gasping breath. He wiped away a few tears that had fallen from his eyes. Sasuke gave him a pat on the back. Naruto looked at him in astonishment. The Uchihas were really the kindest people on this planet. Naruto didn't know what to do or what to say in this situation.

"You must be terribly shocked, sorry for springing this on you in the middle of dinner" Mikoto said apologetically. "Do keep eating" She smiled.

"O.. Okay" Naruto said and continued eating. His brain felt completely fried now.

Somehow Naruto managed to finish dinner, take a shower and change into his sleeping clothes when it was late enough. He was laying on the futon Sasuke had pulled out as he wanted Naruto to sleep in his room. Sasuke was feeling content with his day.

"Sasuke..." Naruto said softly.

"Yes?"

"Am I dreaming?"

"No"

Naruto smiled. These last few weeks had been great, no more than that. Simply amazing. He had received so much happiness, it was unbelievable. How great it would be if life continued to be like this. If only it would.

* * *

Well this was chapter six. What a twist! Naruto is getting adopted?

Thank you for reading :)

~LovePeppermint


	7. Chapter 7

Here we go with chapter 7! Have fun kids. If you can. I think you will like this chapter.

* * *

Sasuke almost died when Itachi entered the kitchen at breakfast. Literally. He choked on his food and had a coughing fit. What nearly became the cause of Sasuke's death was Itachi's choice of clothes. He was wearing a loose hoodie. That enough would have been enough to surprise Sasuke. The life threatening aspect of it was that it was pink. He stared as his brother poured himself a bowl of cereal. CEREAL?! Sasuke was dumbfounded. Itachi always ate something more nutritious.

"What the HECK is wrong with you?!" Sasuke asked his brother. That could have come out better. Sasuke felt like he really should strive towards becoming more delicate with his words. Naruto looked between the brothers. He wondered why Sasuke was upset. Itachi hadn't said anything to him. Itachi glanced at Sasuke.

"… Who knows?" Itachi answered and sat down. Sasuke frowned. He hadn't seen Itachi wear colour in years. He always wore black or grey.

"Your hoodie is pink" Sasuke almost sounded accusing. Itachi paused with the spoon halfway to his mouth. He peeked out of the hood.

"I know" He said. Naruto bit his lip at the exchange. Did Sasuke not like pink? But he was friends with Sakura... Her hair was pink.

"…" Sasuke couldn't find anything good to say. It wasn't like he would interrogate Itachi because of a pink hoodie. Itachi's hand squeezed his spoon. He needed control. He bit his lip. He _needed_ control.

"We need to go get ready, Naruto" Sasuke said and stood up. Naruto nodded and followed Sasuke. Before he left the room Naruto turned to give Itachi one last look. He looked really tired.

…

"YOU'RE GOING TO WHAT?!" Sakura shrieked at lunch. Sasuke glared at her.

"Adopt Naruto" He answered sounding annoyed. Sakura slumped down on her seat. She looked defeated. Ino put her head on the table. This was a hard blow for them. Was Sasuke trying to ruin his reputation or something? Ino sighed.

"Awesome dude" Kiba grinned and gave him a pat on the shoulder. Sakura and Ino looked at him incredulously. Since when had he accepted Naruto's existence? Neji put down his utensils.

"You haven't even introduced him to us yet" He glared. Sasuke dropped a sweat.

"Why should he, we've all met him already" Kiba said. Neji's expression darkened.

"I see. I am the only one left out. Well isn't that nice. Really _brilliant_. If that is the extent of my importance to the lot of you, I wont bother you _asinine simpletons_ for any longer." Neji declared and left for Lee's table. Neji scowled. He would be the bloody third wheel since Lee was sitting there with his girlfriend Tenten. How that dunce managed to get a girlfriend was beyond him.

"That blasted Neji. Now I have a headache." Sasuke muttered. Kiba sighed.

"Is it just me or is Neji moodier than usual lately?" He asked. Sasuke nodded. He had also been thinking that. Dramaqueen. Sasuke snorted. Neji would lynch him if he knew that Sasuke thought him to be a dramaqueen.

"I'm sure he'll get over it." Sasuke said. Kiba pursed his lips in thought. Sasuke guessed that Kiba wanted to make Neji in a better mood so that Hinata would be in a better mood.

…

"Konoha hasn't changed one bit..." A smooth voice bitterly said at the train station. His long golden blond hair was partially put up in a ponytail. He had hoped he wouldn't need to return to this inartistic city but now he was _needed_ here. With a sigh he began rolling his tattered suitcase away towards his destination. It was covered with various stickers, giving it a quirk. He was wearing a brightly coloured attire. Bright pink sneakers and skinny turquoise jeans. On his upper body he wore a charcoal grey over-the-shoulder tee with a blue mesh tank top underneath. His blue eyes glared behind his pink oversized sunglasses at the drab surroundings. This town had such a lack of art. No graffiti. Barely any sculptures. It was dull to be here. There weren't any local bands here either. The blond could never understand what these people spent their time doing. He did not understand people who didn't appreciate art. He was currently a university student studying diffenrent art forms. Art was hi passion. He rolled his eyes at the disdainful looks he got for his appearance. Insolent people who couldn't handle a little bit of diversity.

"Do you need help with that bag, miss?" A white haired middle aged man asked him with a lecherous smile. He stopped.

"Jiraya you damn pervert, can't you even recognise an old student?!" He growled at the man and ripped of his sunglasses. Jiraya blinked.

"Deidara?" He asked with surprise. Deidara glared.

"Yes you freak. Seeing as you're here during school hours I take it they finally fired you for being such a disgusting deplorable perverted lech" Deidara looked at Jiraya with disdain. He did not like this man.

"No no, school was cut short today due to an accident in the chemistry lab." Jiraya explained. "But oh my, you look as much like a girl as always" He said with a wink.

"Fuck off" Deidara said and put on his sunglasses before storming off. This was another reason why he hated Konoha. That bloody lecher lived here. It had been hell to have him as a homeroom teacher. Deidara had heard many people praise Konoha in his hometown. He couldn't fathom why, but it was apparently a popular place to visit. Deidara had only lived here for a few years during his teens but that had been more that enough. He opened his bag and took out his turquoise headphones. He connected them to his cell phone and began listening. The first track was a nightcored version of Hollywood Undead's Knife Called Lust. Deidara now felt more at ease. He treaded the familiar streets. He didn't bother taking the bus, he didn't like how cramped it was. He also didn't want to get groped by some creep. They seemed to thrive here. After about half an hour he found himself in front of the forbidden manor. When he was younger this was a place strictly forbidden for him. God forbid trash like him was seen here. Deidara glared at the accursed building. He could feel his blood boil. He loathed the damn owner of this stinking estate.

"Oooh Neji check out that chick." Deidara twitched. He glanced around himself. There was no female in sight. He turned to his right where the voice had come from. He saw a dumb looking brunet and a stoic looking guy with long black hair. The brunet grinned at him.

"You're not on a fucking high enough level to be checking me out you revolting mutt" Yes, Deidara was tired of being treated like an object. Kiba blanched. That was not the voice of a woman. Neji smirked. He inwardly applauded this person for his creative language. And people said blonds were stupid.

"Whatever" Kiba growled and continued to the door of the Uchiha manor followed by Neji. They rang the doorbell and were quickly let in. Deidara snorted. What now? Commoners were allowed to enter the Holy Palace? With an angry click of his tongue he made his way to the door. Deidara hesitated, he had actually never used the door to get in. He had been kicked out a few times through it though. Usually when he came here he climbed up on a rope Itachi had hanging from his window. Shrugging of the memory he pressed the doorbell. The door was quickly opened by a maid.

"May I ask who you are and what your purpose of coming here is?" She asked after giving him a scrutinising look. Deidara could tell she looked down her nose at him. He scowled angrily. The brats earlier had been let in easily enough.

"You don't need to know" He muttered and pushed past her into the hallway.

"I didn't know you had a sister Sasuke" Deidara heard a voice coming from the living room. He made his way there with his bag scrambling behind him.

"What?" Sasuke asked Kiba with a confused look. Kiba gestured towards Itachi who had just entered the room. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Itachi was still wearing that stupid pink hoodie, but now he had the hood down and his hair was let out and not gathered at the nape of his neck.

"That's Itachi, idiot" Kiba looked surprised. He was really losing his touch. Twice in a row? That couldn't be just bad luck.

Deidara dramtically stormed into the room with the maid rushing after him. When he saw Itachi he abandoned his bag and rushed to give him a big ol' hug. Itachi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Deidara..." He said in astonishment. Deidara smiled. He had decided to make this a surprise visit.

"I've missed you so much tachi tachi tachi~~" He squeezed Itachi harder. Itachi chuckled and patted Deidara's back.

"You surprised me" Itachi said with a smile. Deidara let him go. He noticed the hoodie.

"Is that mine?" He asked with beaming eyes. Itachi nodded.

Meanwhile, four teens were watching the scene. Sasuke looked absolutely mortified, Kiba looked confused, Neji looked expressionless and Naruto was wide eyed in shock.

"Deidara...?" He whispered. Deidara turned around curiously. He gasped.

"NARUPIE?" He asked in surprise. Naruto blanched. This could not be happening. Why on earth was he here? Deidara laughed suddenly. It sounded a bit like something a manic villain would make. "Hah. Isn't it amazing Itachi?" Deidara said bitterly. "Suddenly orphan trash is allowed in the palace." He sneered. Sasuke scowled at this.

"Who do you think you're calling trash?" He growled. Deidara smirked.

"Don't worry, I was orphan trash way before he was." Deidara assured. Sasuke looked confused.

"Itachi, who is this person?" He asked angrily. His turquoise pants were giving him a headache.

"It's my friend, Sasuke. Treat him with respect" Sasuke raised his brows. It was the first time Itachi had introduced someone as a friend. And _that_ was Itachi's friend?

"It looks like your brother has a similar taste in friends as you, Itachi. Both of you picked up scraps from the orphanage" Deidara voiced. In Sasuke's head the pieces were starting to fit together. This guy knew Naruto because they were both from the Haven.

"Is that hag still over there?" Deidara asked. Naruto nodded. Deidara shook off a shiver. "And they call that place a Haven. Oh how I despise this abominable town!" He exclaimed dramatically. Naruto grimaced. Deidara hadn't changed at all. Deidara had been at the orphanage until about two years ago and he had been a menace to the workers. Moody, sensitive, hot tempered was just the beginning. Throw in mischievous, intelligent, teasing, foulmouthed and delinquent. He had given Naruto the nickname 'Narupie'. Why, Naruto didn't' know. Since Naruto had also been a trouble child and caused problems everywhere he and Deidara sometimes got punished together. Deidara was also someone they didn't want at the orphanage. He had come when he was 12. Naruto had been nine years old at the time. They hadn't been particularly close or anything but what they had in common except their similarities in appearance was the fact that they were both disliked by the head matron. Naruto suspected it was because Deidara had blown up a toilet shortly after he had arrived.

"How did you manage to slip in here? If I remember correctly you weren't exactly stealthy." Deidara asked curiously. Naruto frowned.

"Sasuke brought me here" Naruto said. Deidara raised a brow. He turned to Itachi. Itachi gave him a sad smile.

"Some things have changed since you left" He said. Deidara sighed.

"I bet they haven't" He claimed. "Your father will throw a fit if he knows I'm here" He said. Itachi shrugged.

"Who knows?" He said. Sasuke looked at the two. It seemed like his father didn't like this Deidara. Sasuke understood why.

"Let's go to my room" Sasuke suggested to his friends. Before leaving the room Naruto turned to Deidara.

"And you said you'd NEVER set your foot in Konoha again" Naruto grinned and left. Deidara glared after him.

"Cheeky as always..." He muttered. He looked Itachi over. "Pink suits you" He said with a smile.

…

"Sasuke... I just have to say this... Your brother looks hot." Kiba confessed. The three other teens in Sasuke's room gave him a 'wtf-Kiba?' look. Kiba pursed his lips. He must've confused them. "_In that way_" He clarified. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. "That blond is hot as well" Kiba said. "Am I the only one who's extremely confused right now?" He asked them with a perplexed look. Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. It was time for him to share his wisdom, he did after all have some experience with these kinds of worries.

"You shall find that the confusion disappears after a while" Naruto tried to sound as wise as he could.

"Naruto?" Sasuke said. "Is there something you would like to tell us?" He asked suspiciously. Naruto paused. Hmm. It might not have been his best idea to share his wisdom.

"Hmmm no, no not really" Naruto smiled. Sasuke nodded slowly.

"Neji, you should start a long hair club with them or something" Kiba suggested. Neji snorted.

"In that case you can start an idiot club you _dolt_. Kiba glared.

"Stop insulting me with words I don't even understand!" He barked. Naruo smiled at them. When they had arrived Kiba had explained that they came because Neji had felt left out. Naruto felt happy that he was able to befriend even more people, but it seemed difficult to approach Neji and get closer to him.

"I will not" Neji refused. It amused him far too much. Sasuke made a tired sigh.

"My head hurts" He complained. Naruto frowned. When Sasuke said that he just wanted to hug him and kiss him and make him forget about the pain. But no. He couldn't do that, now could he? Instead he had to sit there with a poker face, pretending that he didn't think about making out with Sasuke. He just really wanted to know how Sasuke's lips felt. They looked so soft. Naruto felt himself get carried away and shrugged off those thoughts. Luckily his mad blushing had stopped a while ago.

"Is it because of your brother and that guy?" Kiba asked. Sasuke nodded.

"I wonder if Itachi is gay" Kiba voiced. Sasuke raised a brow. He had never thought of that possibility. He had never heard Itachi say anything about a girlfriend and he had hugged Deidara, Sasuke had never seen Itachi hug anyone before and he had looked so happy and oh god Itachi was gay.

"We could always test him" Neji suggested. Sasuke turned to him. Yes! That was what they should do. Kiba nodded enthusiastically. Naruto felt a little bit uncomfortable.

"We need a good plan" Kiba said. Sasuke nodded.

"If you want to I can invite Shikamaru. He is really smart and could probably come up with a good strategy." Naruto suggested. He needed to act normal.

"Sure" Sasuke said. The more the merrier. This needed to be a success. Naruto sent a quick text on the cell phone he had gotten from Iruka as a reward for improving his behaviour. As they waited for him to come they sat in silence as they each tried to come up with a plan. It turned out that Shikamaru didn't live very far away so he arrived after only a few minutes.

"This is so troublesome" He said when he came in, sounding slightly annoyed. Naruto grinned.

"Nobody forced you to come" He teased.

"Whatever" Shikamaru said. "Let's just get to planning" He said. The rest nodded. "In order to find out if someone is gay, an effective way is to test their reaction to certain situation. For that purpose I brought this" Shikamaru pulled out a photo from his pocket. The teens stared.

"What the heck Shikamaru? Why do you have a picture of Tsunade's breasts?" Naruto asked in shock. Sasuke took the photo. Those were some impressive breasts.

"I figured it might come in handy" Shikamaru answered"

"Lemme see, lemme see!" Kiba grabbed it from Sasuke and gave a whistle. Impressive. Neji gave it a thorough glance.

"So who is this? Kiba asked.

"It's the school nurse" Naruto sighed. Kiba's eyes bulged.

"We have a new nurse?! I think I'll get in lots of fights in school next week" Kiba smiled happily and drooled some. His mind flashed to Hinata. Hinata also had a very nice figure. He suddenly felt watched. He turned towards Neji and felt a wave of fear. He was glaring at him. Could it be that Neji could read his mind? Kiba gulped.

"So...What're we going to do with the picture?" Kiba asked in an attempt to change the conversation. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"We're going to show this to Itachi of course." He deadpanned. Kiba nodded. That made sense. "Let's go" Sasuke said. Together the boys stood outside Itachi's door. With a determined look Sasuke knocked on it. It was Deidara who opened.

"We have something to show Itachi" Sasuke said.

"Ok" Deidara said and let them in. Itachi raised a brow. He wondered why Sasuke had brought even his friends here.

"Look, Itachi" Sasuke handed Itachi the photo. Itachi looked at it in confusion.

"Are you feeling alright Sasuke?" Itachi asked. He assumed that his brother had finally gone kooky.

"Yes. But what do you think about the picture?" Sasuke asked. He tried to sound nonchalant. Meanwhile, Deidara sat beside Itachi and glanced at it.

"Holy fuck!" Deidara covered his eyes. "What are you showing us those for? Tachi~ your brother is wacko" Deidara whined. Itachi handed the photo back to Sasuke.

"Sorry Sasuke, but I don't have anything special to say about that photograph" Itachi said. Sasuke frowned. Judging by this reaction... Itachi didn't seem to like it. But Itachi had a good poker face. They needed something more intense.

"Itachi, do you want to play truth or dare with us?" Sasuke heard himself asking. He mentally slapped himself. Did he really just suggest that?

"What are we, little school girls?" Kiba growled in protest. Sasuke sent him the Uchiha glare. It was one of his more powerful ones.

"That sounds like fun!" Deidara exclaimed. He was going to torture these younglings. "Let's do it Tachi." Deidara pulled at Itachi's arm. Itachi agreed to Deidara's request with a sigh. Sasuke suddenly realised that Itachi was wearing a black long sleeved tee as he usually did. The pink disaster was gone. He snorted. Instead it had been replaced by a freaking rainbow, he thought with Deidara in mind. They all gathered in Sasuke's room. Sasuke had found a bottle which he placed in the middle of their circle. Naruto dropped a sweat as he watched Sasuke. He had understood by now that Sasuke would go to extreme measures to get what he wanted. And now he wanted an answer. Naruto looked at his friends. Kiba was a sad mixture of grumpy and embarrassed. On Shikamaru's face you could clearly read troublesome and Neji looked expressionless. He looked at Deidara and Itachi. Deidara looked as if he was planning something devious and Itachi looked slightly amused. Naruto found it funny that the oldest people in the room were the ones who looked the least reluctant.

"I'll spin first" Deidara offered with an evil smirk and spun it before anyone could protest. It ended up pointing to Shikamaru. Shikamaru gave an annoyed sigh and muttered something about this being troublesome.

"Truth" He muttered. He couldn't believe he was playing a pointless game like this. Deidara looked slightly disappointed that he chose truth.

"Have you ever been attracted to a person of the same sex?" Deidara asked.

"No" Shikamaru answered with a tired sigh. This was going to be a long night. He lazily grabbed the bottle and spun it. It landed on Kiba. Kiba looked horrified. No way he was doing a dare here.

"Truth" He said. The game continued like this. The questions safe and dares harmless. Until, Neji spun the bottle and it landed on Itachi who chose a dare.

"I dare you to kiss Deidara." He said coolly. The rest of the teens gulped. Itachi gave a playful smirk. He grabbed Deidara's neck and embraced his lips. Deidara eagerly kissed him back. Itachi opened his mouth and gave Deidara access. He let him take control of the kiss. Itachi moaned lightly at Deidara's immaculate French kissing skills. After a couple of minutes he pulled away, leaving Itachi with a small smile. Sasuke was in a state of shock. Everyone were in a state of shock. Sasuke felt his eye beginning to twitch. And he was sure he felt more that _one_ vein pop.

"WHAT THE HELL ITACHI?!" Sasuke had an outburst.

"I don't know what you're upset about. It was my dare to kiss him" Itachi said innocently. Sasuke glared.

"It was not your dare to have his fucking TONGUE SHOVED DOWN YOUR THROAT." He barked. Naruto and Kiba looked surprised at Sasuke. He was angry for real. Shikamaru and Neji didn't seem to care much.

"Why are you whining? You're the one who suggested we play. Wasn't it this you wanted to see? If Itachi would like this or not... You fucking blockheaded homophobic bastard." Deidara snapped at him.

"I'M NOT A HOMOPHOBE!" Sasuke answered in frustration.

"Then why are you so keen on finding out if he's gay or not?" Deidara asked. "Isn't it because I came and you got worried that your brother might be attracted to a_ guy_ of all things?" Deidara countered.

"Why are you even HERE? YOU'RE JUST MAKING ITACHI SOMEONE HE ISN'T!" Sasuke burst out in anger. "Because of YOU he's acting weirdly and wearing pink and isn't like he's supposed to be!" He added with a growl. Itachi shut his eyes at those words. Deidara's expression darkened.

"Does Itachi have no freedom in your opinion?" He asked darkly. Itachi got up and grabbed Deidara's arm.

"Let's just go Deidara" He said tiredly. Deidara's scowl softened.

"You can't just leave, Itachi!" Sasuke said. "And you can't seriously be letting _him_ stay here." Sasuke scowled. Itachi simply continued out of the door. Deidara was kind enough to slam it shut with much force.

"… Well that escalated quickly" Kiba said a bit awkwardly. How could the mood be anything but awkward. Shikamaru got up.

"'bout time for me to leave. Lesson of the day is, if you want to know something, just ask instead of causing troublesome situations like this." He said and left the room.

"But I think we can conclude that he is gay." Kiba shared.

"Shut up." Sasuke snapped. He was in a really foul mood and had a headache. Naruto looked at him. Somehow he didn't like the Sasuke he had just seen. Why had he been so opposed to Deidara being here? Naruto gulped. It reminded him of how people used to treat him. The poison in Sasuke's voice when he had emphasized _him_. Why did he do that? And was Sasuke a homophobe? Naruto didn't know. He didn't want to be with Sasuke right now. It suddenly felt like he didn't know him at all. And that made sense. They had known each other for about a month, it would have been strange if they knew a lot about each other. But Sasuke had been so warm. Now he was just... cold.

"I'll go make some tea" Naruto made up an excuse to leave the room. He felt so confused.

…

"Are you okay?" Deidara asked Itachi when they were in his room. Itachi nodded.

"Sasuke is still immature.." He said. "He is still white" Itachi added as he lay on his bed. Deidara was sitting in his armchair. "What am I?" Itachi asked.

"You're Itachi, stupid" Deidara said. "That's all you need to know."

"... I'm so tired Dei" Itachi said. Deidara frowned.

"Why?" He asked.

"I don't know I just... am" Itachi answered. "I'm tired of all of this" Deidara lit a cigarette.

"That isn't good for you." Itachi smiled lightly.

"Yeah, and this is totally good for you" Deidara retorted and pulled up one of Itachi's long, black sleeves, revealing red cuts of various shapes and sizes. Itachi laughed.

"We're both slowly killing ourselves, aren't we?" He said with a smile. Deidara smiled back at him. His blue eyes glittered.

"Whatever. As long as we're living in the moment, I'm fine. Who needs to grow old anyways?" Deidara scoffed. Itachi made a content sigh.

"Thank you for coming Dei... I really needed this" Deidara was about to answer when the door burst open. Itachi pulled down his sleeve faster than a bolt of lightning and looked at the door with wide eyes. He saw the angry figure of his father. Fugaku looked at Deidara with contempt.

"And here I thought that you had left for good. I have told you many times that you're not allowed in this house." He spat venomously. Deidara rolled his eyes at him.

"You're letting all kinds of trash in. Especially that Narupie. What possessed you to let him in?" Deidara asked defiantly.

"Naruto is not trash. Neither of the kids are. They are Sasuke's friends." Fugaku responded. "Now get. out." He demanded. Deidara crossed his arms.

"How about no?" He retorted. Something changed in Fugaku's eyes and he grabbed Deidara's arm. He forcefully began pulling the teen out. Itachi got up from his bed.

"Stop it already. I asked Deidara to come" Itachi said emotionlessly. Fugaku tightened his grip on Deidara's wrist.

"He is a bad influence on you. He is leaving and that is absolute!" Fugaku declared bitterly and pulled him out of the room Itachi followed but _couldn't_ get closer to pull Deidara away from his father. He _couldn't_ touch his parents.

"STOP...it father" Itachi tried to remain composed, but it was difficult when his anchor was once again dragged away from him by that man. Sasuke opened his door at the sound of Itachi and his father. He saw his father pull Deidara away. That had been expected. His father looked angrier than he had imagined though.

"Stop it father... I... _Dei_." Itachi looked helplessly at Deidara. Deidara knew that Itachi couldn't do anything. He winced at the pain in his wrist. Naruto was going to return to Sasuke's room when he saw Fugaku coming down the stairs, dragging Deidara after him with a distressed Itachi behind them. Fugaku opened the door outside. Deidara struggled to get loose from Fugaku's iron grip.

"Let go of me you fucker" He snapped. "You can't throw me out if you're letting Narupie stay!" Deidara tried to reason. Fugaku hit him backhanded. Naruto's eyes bulged.

"Father... " Itachi said with a disapointed look.

"I can and I will. Naruto will soon be an official part of the family and he is not a disgrace like you are. He is a proper _boy_." He emphasized the word, mocking Deidara for his way of being. Deidara looked up with a bleeding lip.

"You're adopting him?" Deidara whispered in disbelief. Fugaku smirked.

"Yes" he answered and Deidara glared at him.

"You fucking unfair fucking son of a-" Fugaku grabbed a hold of Deidara's ponytail and yanked it making him cry out slightly. "Why the fuck do you hate me so much?!" Deidara asked in frustation. Fugaku shoved him against a wall. Itachi's eyes were wide in terror. He felt his hands shaking. But he couldn't go closer. It was impossible for him. He hadn't been able to be close to his parents in six years. Naruto also looked on horrified. He felt _scared_. Why was Fugaku acting like this? Fugaku was supposed to be kind. Itachi tried to speak but his voice wouldn't come out. Deidara glared straight into Fugaku's eyes. He wasn't afraid of looking an Uchiha in the eyes.

"Give me an answer you abusive piece of shit" He growled. Fugaku's expression darkened and he hit him in the face once again. He then shoved him to the ground by pulling his hair. Deidara winced. Itachi began to have difficulties breathing. He couldn't move.

"S-SASUKE! Come down and stop father..." Itachi called. He stared in horror as Fugaku kicked Deidara in the side. Deidara coughed.

"What is it Ita-" Sasuke froze when he saw what was going on. Fugaku shifted Deidara's head to the side with his shoe.

"You will treat me with respect, understood?" Fugaku said coldly. Deidara panted slightly but didn't give in. Fugaku dragged him up to a standing position by his hair. Sasuke felt a chill. Those exact words were what he had said to Naruto that day in the school's bathroom. In fact, this situation seemed eerily similar.

"Dad... what are you doing?" Sasuke asked quietly. Fugaku looked at him.

"I'm protecting our family." He said and grabbed Deidara's arm before kicking him out of the house. Itachi quickly went towards the door as his father left it. Fugaku quickly grabbed a hold of his trembling son by the shoulders. He looked into Itachi's eyes with a sad look. Itachi stared back. He began feeling lightheaded and sat down on the floor. Everything was spinning. He couldn't think straight anymore. Without knowing what to do, he hurried to his room and slammed the door. He slid down to the floor and reached for his headphones. Meanwhile, Naruto finally pulled himself together. He clenched his hands. He hadn't been noticed by Sasuke or Fugaku. He looked at the kitchen window. He made a quick decision and climbed out. He saw Deidara limp away from the house. He ran to him. Deidara looked behind him as he heard footsteps.

"Narupie?" He asked hoarsely. Naruto noticed that he had tears running down his cheeks. "Go back, what if he decides not to adopt you?" Deidara said tiredly and continued walking. Naruto looked at his dishevelled state.

"I don't want him to adopt me.." Naruto realised. He felt himself tear up. "I don't know what to do..." He faintly whispered.

This was the day Naruto discovered that the sun also has faults.

* * *

Well how was it? I'm sorry for going all angsty and deppressing all of a sudden! And for being so mean to Deidara. At least we got a kiss in this chapter... Sigh. I actually pulled an all nighter for this. It's almost exactly 5 am right now. See how devoted I am? Hahaha. It probably has nothing to do with devotion. I just like writing this.

Don't kill me for making Sasuke into a jerk again~~ He is human like the rest of us :P

LovePeppermint


	8. Chapter 8

Hello~~ Peppermint is here with chapter 8. This was difficult for Peppermint to write so she felt very frustrated. Luckily, she took a rest, listened to some nice tunes and became inspired again. Peppermint is not frustrated anymore, and has decided that this chapter is good.

Peppermint hopes you like it. Peppermint wants to thank the readers. She gives a special thank you to her loyal reviewers. They helped her inspiration on this one.

Peppermint also wants to say that she doesn't own Naruto. She insist that Sasuke does.

* * *

"I don't know what to do" Naruto whispered as he stood outside with Deidara in the dark evening. Deidara glanced at him.

"Come here" he urged and led Naruto to a bench. When they sat down he turned to Naruto.

"Don't let it get to you. Me and Fugaku have always been like that. Sure... He was more of a bastard this time but... I'll get back at the supid fucker so it doesn't matter." Deidara assured. Naruto frowned deeper. Deidara tried to think of a way to comfort Naruto.

"I'm the one he has a problem with... It's not like he will hit you" Deidara said sounding a bit angry. He was furious actually, and confused, because Fugaku had for some reason accepted Sasuke's friends. What was wrong with Deidara? He bit his lip in frustration. Fugaku was surely a person who did not apreciate art. Meanwhile, Naruto sighed.

"But it bothers me that he could do that to _anyone._ I always thought that he was a nice guy but now..." Deidara lifted a brow. He was impressed. To think that Fugaku managed to give off that expression. He looked at Naruto's troubled face.

"Hey, Narupie!" Deidara snapped. Naruto looked at him in surprise at the suddenly angry tone. "Stop your moping! When did you become that bloody spoiled? You should just be happy that somebody is willing to adopt you, and if he's a nice guy to you that's fucking great. Quit being so damn ungrateful and be happy instead. You'll even get away from that stupid hag. Itachi's dad would at least never use a fucking stick on someone" Deidara reprimanded him. Naruto blinked. What Deidara had said _sort of_ made sense. He really should be grateful for this. And, he had forgiven Sasuke and Kiba for being brutes. It didn't mean that it was right to treat people like that, it just meant that Naruto didn't want to give up on being adopted because Fugaku had a bit of a nasty part. Didn't everyone? As Deidara had said, Naruto was lucky that he even got the chance to be adopted and... He would also be closer to Sasuke, Mikoto, even Itachi. Fugaku being a jerk was not a big enough reson for Naruto to give this up.

"And besided... " Deidara started. "I also want you to go back because I need a favour from you..." Deidare kicked some pebble as he said that. Naruto looked at him in question. "Please watch over Itachi for me" Deidara's voice sounded a bit hoarse again. "I can't do that properly because I'm always kicked out when I'm there..." Deidara added and wiped away angry tears. All because of that accursed Fugaku.

"I'll go back" Naruto said. He didn't want to give up on his light yet. He needed to be optimistic.

"Good" Deidara said and sighed. He could now at least have a spy in there. He watched as Naruto stood up and made to leave.

"One more thing" Deidara said "Give me your number" he ordered. He needed to be able to contact hid spy, or what was the point? Naruto told him what it was before returning to the house. Deidara shrugged. The little rascal had grown up a bit. He seemed a bit more mature and less hot headed now.

…

Sasuke returned to his room with a deep frown. He looked up to see Kiba and Neji bickering about something.

"You look cheerful" Kiba said. Sasuke shook his head as he slumped down on his couch. He had a big headache and wanted to see Naruto's big bright eyes. That always made him feel better, but where was he? How long could it take to make some stupid tea? Realisation struck him. Had Naruto seen what his father did? He swallowed. This was not good. He got up.

"I'll go see what's taking Naruto so long" He mumbled and left the room. Kiba and Neji looked after him.

"… As I said, Itachi was the hottest, I kind of have a thing for long black hair." Kiba argued.

"… I see" Neji answered. Suddenly Neji's long black hair was like a pink elephant in the room. Kiba could not believe he had just said that.

…

Sasuke was walking down the stairs to see if Naruto was still in the kitchen. He hoped that the blond hadn't left... or started hating him or something for dragging him from one violent environment to the other. 'Smooth, Sasuke', he thought while rolling his eyes. On his way downstairs he met Naruto. Sasuke looked into his eyes worriedly.

"Are... you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah" Naruto answered with a nodd. He pursed his lips. He didn't feel angry at Sasuke anymore. Now he just wanted to be held and kissed and comforted. He felt his eyes sting. Sasuke frowned. He took Naruto's hand and pulled him into the upstairs corridor.

.

Please kiss me and make it all go away

.

Naruto wished to whatever high power that might be listening. Sasuke always brought forward such a strong longing within him. It was different from anything he had felt before. Naruto tugged at Sasuke's sleeve before he could open the door. Sasuke looked at him in slight confusion. Naruto looked down at the floor.

.

Kiss me

.

Naruto wanted to whisper to him. Something stopped him. He hesitated. Naruto looked up to meet Sasuke's deep grey eyes.

.

Please kiss me

.

Naruto tried to convey his need trough his eyes. He wanted Sasuke to understand him. To see his silent pleading. Sasuke cupped Naruto's cheek. For some reason there was something unusually beautiful about the Naruto standing in front of him. His eyes were so filled with emotions. He was so still. He looked... ethereal. Sasuke felt his heart beat a rhythm he didn't recognise, but yet it it felt so right.

.

He kissed him

.

Sasuke's lips were soft against Naruto's, just like Naruto had always suspected them to be. Naruto's eyes flickered slightly in their closed state. He felt Sasukes arms embrace him. This moment was perfect, it felt like time has stopped and nothing could distur-

"HOLY FUCK" Kiba's yell was loud. Naruto's face was red. Sasuke looked murderous. Neji smiled. Neji _laughed_. Kiba turned from one unrealistic event to the other.

"What the HECK dudes?!" Kiba turned to Naruto and Sasuke. He looked a mixture of horrified and amused, with a dash of intrigued.

"HAVEN'T YOU HEARD OF KNOCKING?" Sasuke snapped. This day had probably caused thousands of veins to pop. It wasn't good to keep the stress pent up, so Sasuke decided to let it out. To just let it out and make his life feel so much better.

"WHY should I knock if I'm going out from the room?" Kiba retorted. Naruto had gotten over his initial shock and glared daggers at Kiba. His long awaited kiss with Sasuke had finally come and stupid Kiba disrupted it. Naruto blushed again. Sasuke had _kissed_ him.

"Just... AGH SHUT UP KIBA" Sasuke roared. He was confused at his own actions and didn't need Kiba's comments.

"Kiba, I think this would be the proper time to leave. We should give them some privacy." Neji said and walked out the room. Kiba grinned in agreement and followed him. Was it a full moon or something? The Uchiha's kept kissing people... Kiba was amused. Neji seemed to be as well. Naruto and Sasuke were left with only each other as company. Naruto briefly wondered if he and Sasuke would keep kissing or...? But then he thought that maybe they should talk about what happened earlier with Deidara and Fugaku first.

"I'm sorry" Sasuke broke the silence. Naruto glanced at him. He had such a guilty look on his face.

"I know" Naruto said and stroked Sasuke's hair for a moment. "But it wasn't your fault." Naruto added softly. Sasuke took Naruto's hand in his. It was a bit smaller than his. Sasuke liked that for some reason. He thought about his resolution to protect Naruto.

"I had no idea my father could do that" Sasuke whispered. He was still quite shocked.

"I think it runs in the family" Naruto smiled sadly. Sasuke grimaced at the memory of his own violent side.

"Are you scared?" Sasuke asked Naruto. He nodded lightly.

"And angry. But I can't go back to the orphanage. I need to stay here... I need to try." Naruto said downcast. Sasuke inwardly growled that Naruto had to feel like this. Naruto looked up at Sasuke.

"You should apologise to Itachi tomorrow. You weren't very nice to him" Naruto said. Sasuke frowned. He hadn't thought about his behaviour towards Itachi. Sasuke came to the conclusion that he had acted like a total jerk and shouldn't care if Itachi liked to kiss guys. Especially considering the fact that he had kissed Naruto just now and it hadn't even been because of some dare. He still didn't quite know why he did that.

"I should" Sasuke agreed. Naruto was glad that Sasuke realised his mistake. Now he felt more like the moody bastard Naruto had grown used to. "Let's go to bed" Sasuke said.

"Yeah" Naruto said and went to his futon. He fell asleep very quickly with a smile on his face. For Sasuke it took quite some time.

…

The next morning Sasuke decided to talk with his father. He needed to know what it was that drove his father to such a state of mind. He needed to tell him that Naruto was _scared_ because of him. He needed to yell at him, to get it out of his system. With both fire and ice in his dark eyes Sasuke stormed into the kitchen.

"Dad I need to talk about what happened yesterday." He said and sat down at the table. Mikoto put down her tea cup.

"What happened?" She asked with concern. Fugaku avoided his wife's worried eyes.

"Dad was a major as." Sasuke blurted and glared at his father. "Naruto saw you. And now he's _scared_." Sasuke tried to contain his anger. "The reason I wanted us to adopt him was so that he could get _away_ from shit like that. And then you go and beat up Itachi's probably only friend, because I don't know about you, but I can't remember ANYone else coming over here claiming to be his friend." Sasuke glared. Mikoto gasped.

"Fugaku..!" She looked disappointed at him.

"But the worst part is that Naruto was abused at the orphanage so what if he's TRAUMATIZED FOREVER NOW?" Sasuke scolded his father. Mikoto frowned in distaste at the audacity of the people there. She would definitely pursue that subject further. She joined her son's glare.

"It's about time for you to go on a business trip, isn't it, Fugaku?" Mikoto asked her husband coldly, implying that he should get the hell out of the house, better yet, the country for the time being. "Thank you Sasuke dear for coming. I will handle the rest, you can go" She smiled sweetly at her son" Sasuke nodded and walked away slowly. He could tell that his mom was enraged. It was best not to get in her way. She was after all the most powerful member of the Uchiha family.

…

Mikoto quietly opened the door to Sasuke's room. When she came in she saw her son trying to teach Naruto how to play chess. Naruto had this very concentrated look on his face and she couldn't help but to smile at the sight.

"Hi boys" She smiled and sat down on the couch. Naruto glanced up at her.

"I'm so sorry about my husbands behaviour." Mikoto apologised. "It must have frightened you." She added sadly. "You don't need to worry though, I have sent him away to the other side of the earth. He will leave this afternoon so you can be calm" She smiled sweetly. Sasuke gulped. He would never make his mother angry. Ever. But he agreed that his father deserved this. Naruto looked impressed.

"Wow." He said. He didn't know what else there was to say, that was impressive. Mikoto walked to Naruto and gave him a hug.

"Just leave everything to me, I will make everything alright" She said soothingly. Naruto didn't know what to say, but he could feel warmth emit from Mikoto. A mother's hug... What kind of hug would his real mother have given him? Would she also have a slight scent of perfume like Mikoto? Would she have hudded him at all? Mikoto closed her eyes. She was a strong woman. She would pull everyone together and patch everybody up. Sasuke looked at his mother. She had a determined look on her face.

"I'll go check up on Itachi" She said after the hug had ended. She left the room with a smile at the two teens and walked the short distance it was to Itachi's room. She knocked on it, Itachi's door was as a rule always locked. That worried her, but it wasn't like she wanted to invade his privacy. He was already twenty one years old after all.

"Itachi?" She tried to gain a response. "Your father is leaving on a business trip this afternoon." She informed in case he was worried about meeting him. She sighed deeply and leaned her head towards his door. She shut her dark eyes, fluttering her long black lashes. She was happy that Deidara had come to visit. But her husband however, had come to the notion that it was Deidara's fault that Itachi turned out like he did. Mikoto couldn't agree with that reasoning. Itachi was sensitive to the world, and that had nothing to do with Deidara. He was just avoiding blaming himself. Mikoto blamed herself. If she had been a better mother Itachi would never have broken like that. She shook her head disapprovingly as her anger towards her husband surfaced again combined with gher guilt. She clenched her hands into fists. That foolish buffoon. And he called himself an Uchiha. She begrudgingly went to prepare lunch. She would not make any for him. If he wanted to eat he would have to do it somewhere else. Who did he think he was, causing a racket like this? He was much too old for childish fits like that.

Itachi was laying in his bed as he heard his mother walk away. He felt so tired.

…

Naruto peeked a look at Sasuke. His gaze got caught on his lips. Those _l__ips_. Naruto sighed. How was he supposed to learn anything like this? Sasuke was the perfect distraction. It was so easy to just look at him, and look at him and look at him. Sasuke noticed that Naruto was a bit spaced out. He seemed to be gazing at... him. Sasuke thought back on the kiss yesterday. He frowned. He had always thought of Naruto as something of a pet... ever since that day he apologised to him. Naruto had been so cute, peeking out of the covers like that. Now Sasuke wasn't sure of his own feelings any longer. They certainly differed from those for friend but... He should ask Itachi about this. First he needed to make up with him... Sasuke sighed. He was such a bigot sometimes. What was wrong with him?

"… I'm gonna try talking with Itachi" Sasuke said. Naruto woke from his daydreams. He cleared his throat.

"Good" He said and tried to give a non-infatuated smile. Sasuke left the room. Naruto put a hand over his speeding heart. He wondered if they needed to talk about the kiss. It had started to feel as if he had dreamt it since they hadn't mentioned it yet... Naruto leaned back on the couch with a sigh. How could a person as good looking as Sasuke even exist? And his _voice_..!

Sasuke knocked on Itachi's door repeatedly. There was no response.

"Open the door I have something urgent I need to talk about" Sasuke urged and knocked some more. He finally heard the sound of the lock clicking. Itachi opened the door. Sasuke blinked for a moment. Itachi looked like a mess. His hair was all tangled and he had dark bags under his eyes. Itachi moved to let him in. Sasuke cleared his throat.

"Eh... First of all, I'm sorry for being a bigot yesterday..." Itachi poked his forehead.

"If you weren't a bigot you wouldn't be Sasuke" He said and sat down in his armchair. Haha, Sasuke thought. Apparently Itachi's sense of humour was still intact. "What is it you came to talk about?" Itachi asked. Sasuke looked away. This was a bit embarrassing.

"I... Well, I kissed Naruto yesterday..." Sasuke revealed. Itachi arched a brow.

"After yelling at me like that for kissing Deidara? You're so funny Sasuke" Itachi said while faking sounding impressed. Sasuke dropped a sweat. So Itachi was a bit pissed at him.

"Yeah... The thing is I don't know is why I did it" Sasuke said with a frown. Itachi sighed.

"Well, little brother, it's probably because you wanted to" Itachi talked as if he was talking to a small child. Sasuke pursed his lips. Usually Itachi didn't show his annoyance this much he was getting a little bitchy dammit.

"Why did I want to?" He asked.

"Are you stupid Sasuke?" Itachi deadpanned. Sasuke glared. "Usually you kiss someone because you like them, or are attracted to them" Itachi explained.

"But I _know_ that I like girls" Sasuke insisted. Itachi buried his head in his hands.

"God... You're so dense. It's not like it has to be one or the other. It's possible to like both boys and girls." Itachi tiredly explained. Sasuke gulped.

"I just wanted him to be my pet... My puppykitten..." Sasuke mumbled. Itachi sighed.

"Maybe you just misunderstood your feelings?" Itachi suggested. Sasuke looked contemplative.

"By the way Itachi are you... gay?" Sasuke asked. Itachi paused.

"I guess something like that. You're too obtuse to understand, so I'll explain some other time. Now go and let me sulk in peace" Itachi made a shooing motion. Sasuke frowned but left nonetheless. What the heck did Itachi mean with that he wouldn't understand? What could be that complicated? Before Sasuke entered his room he wondered what he should do. He decided that he would go with the flow and do whatever he felt like doing. That way he would surely come to a definite answer. He opened the door to his room. Ah, there he was. The cutest person alive. Sasuke's gem. Yes... Sasuke's thoughts were quite romantic. He sat down next to Naruto who was reading an instruction book for chess. Sasuke felt a bit cheeky so he put his arm around Naruto's shoulders. Naruto gave him a wide eyed confused look. Sasuke smiled at the cuteness of it. He traced Naruto's lips gently with his thumb. Naruto swallowed. He felt lost. Sasuke had had another one of his weird mood swings and... it wasn't bad. Naruto didn't mind if he continued. Sasuke continued to lightly trace Naruto's face. Naruto looked hazily into Sasuke's deep grey eyes. Those eyes that he wouldn't mind drowning in.

"How can your eyes be so blue?" Sasuke asked tenderly.

"Guess who's back!" The door burst open. Naruto swore that Kiba would die a painful death if he disturbed a romantic moment one more time. Sasuke glared at him.

"Why?" He asked bitterly. Kiba grinned. He pulled in Neji.

"I brought Neji... Well we have some things to talk about don't we?" Kiba said. Sasuke cleared his throat and attempted to appear nonchalant.

"Oh?" He said. Naruto looked between them. Kiba had probably returned to question them about the kiss.

"The kiss." Kiba grinned evilly. "Neji and I won't tell anyone, so spill. What's the deal with you two?" Kiba asked and wiggled his eyebrows. Sasuke glared.

"There is no deal. That was just..." Sasuke paused. "just... just..."

"Just what?" Kiba asked.

"We were just testing!" Naruto burst out. "We wanted to investigate if a guy's lips felt different than a girls... to get a deeper understanding of humanity" Naruto added. Kiba looked surprised.

"… Really?" He asked sceptically. Naruto nodded enthusiastically. Sasuke also gave a small nod. How lucky that Naruto managed to come up with something... even if it sounded sort of odd... It was still kind of plausible as an explanation. Too bad that Kiba didn't seem to buy it.

"Well? Was it different?" Kiba asked curiously. He did not believe their explenation, but he was still curious.

"Yeah, totally different" Sasuke answered. He had enjoyed Naruto's lips way more. Kiba nodded in understanding.

"Was it... you know... bad?" He asked hesitantly. Naruto smiled. But then he quickly tried to regain his poker face. He needed to lay low.

"Not... Not really." Sasuke said with slightly pink cheeks. Naruto's eyes lit up. Sasuke had liked it too.

"Kiba you lowly baboon. If you're so curious, try it for yourself." Neji snapped in annoyance. Kiba gave him a look of disbelief. But then again... Naruto and Sasuke had already done it. It would make sense if he tried it too. And he was a little curious.

"Sasuke, can you go get Itachi?" Kiba asked seriously. Sasuke's eye twitched.

"What?" He spat.

"Nothing, nothing..." Kiba assured. He looked over at Neji. He did have a thing for people with long black hair.

"What about you Neji? Aren't you going to do it? If I do it you'll be the only one who hasn't and then you'll be the only one left out again." Kiba used his best tricks. Neji snorted.

"Nitwit" He simply said. Kiba slumped in his seat. His plan had failed. Why was he even hoping so much for a yes..?

...

Neji and Kiba stayed for lunch. Mikoto was happy to be surrounded by so much youth. Even Itachi had come down. Sasuke was embarrassed at the state of him. His usually proper and neat appearance seemed like a memory from long ago. It was as if this was the birth of a new Itachi. He was wearing the pink disaster again and he had put his black hair in a messy side braid which reached almost to his waist. On top of that he wore sunglasses. For some reason they were also pink. They must also be Deidara's, Sasuke concluded. Mikoto didn't mind though. She was happy this way, because Itachi always kept to himself without ever showing his emotions. That he acted like this instead of trying to be perfect was good in her opinion. He needed to let out his pent up frustration more. She frowned slightly as she watched the kids eat. She was worried about Deidara. When Fugaku had left she would find him and then let him stay here.

"So... Itachi" Kiba suddenly said. "… Do you wanna play truth or dare..? Sasuke hit him on the head. What the heck was Kiba doing in front of his mother. Itachi looked at him expressionlessly behind the oversized sunglasses before returning to his food. Kiba felt ignored.

...

"Itachi?" Mikoto knocked on his door. Itachi opened.

"Yes mother?" He said with a small smile. He was regaining his composure again and was mending his broken mask.

"Fugaku has left so you can invite your friend here if you want" She smiled at him. Itachi smiled with a hint of amusement. Deidara suddenly popped up behind him.

"I'm already here~" He mused. "I'm a pro at infiltrating this building" He smiled. Itachi smirked. Mikoto smiled at the two.

"I'll be off then." She smiled and closed the door.

"So he wont be around. We can finally have that sleepover, Itachi" Deidara said. Itachi frowned.

"Don't you dare start a pillow fight with my pillows. They're in perfect condition and I want to keep them that way." Itachi warned.

"Damn you're boring." Deidara pouted.

...

Too soon, the weekend came to an end. Too soon it was time for the _school trip_.

* * *

Was this good? I don't even know... *sigh* It was difficult, I had lost my vision and had written some crap. This is soo edited. Look forward to the school trip in the next chapter!

If this was boring or something, have a hug *hugs*

LovePeppermint


	9. Chapter 9

Chappy nine is here to be read by YOU and yes, I mean YOU.

haha

Thank you to all reviewers~~ And also, I thank the inspiring songs I listened too. ;P

Enjoy the chapter children!

* * *

The bus drive out to the country side was much too long for Sasuke's taste. It had been horrific. He had been hogged by Sakura and Ino, them claiming that he was neglecting them recently. He had been forced to sit with them for the entire length of it. Of course that meant that other girls managed to sneak close to get a rare closer look at their Uchiha prince. Sasuke had suffered alone, without the distraction of his friends. Thus, now that he was unpacking his bag, he had a big headache. He glared daggers at the door when he heard it knock.

"Sasuke, the food is ready" It was Naruto. Sasuke, Naruto and their friends were sharing a small cabin where they were supposed to stay for the few days of the school trip since they had been allowed to group up by themselves. The teachers at their school didn't really care one bit about what their students did, well they at least didn't seem to. Sasuke nearly hit himself in the face. He had just glared at Naruto through the door. With a scowl he exited the room. Naruto looked at him in question. He then smiled amusedly. Typically Sasuke to be suffering from random mood swings.

"I have big news to share after we've eaten" Kiba revealed to the rest of the boys. Sasuke raised a brow but didn't ask. It was too much effort.

"Cool. And by the way Chouji, you're a surprisingly good cook!" Naruto said. Chouji grinned.

"It's my goal to be a chef in the future." Naruto nodded in understanding. Everything was normal. Except for one little thing.

"Isn't it WONDERFUL that we have gathered here youthfully to experience the beauty of youth while we are still young and youthful!" Neji's friend, Lee had joined them to meet the required number of occupants in the cabin. Naruto stared at him. His eyebrows were _thick_. They were almost impressive. Sasuke scowled. This green idiot was adding to his headache. There was nothing wonderful about their predicament. He could see it in front of him, how he would have to watch out for fan girls nearly twenty four seven during this trip. Oh, the pains of being an Uchiha.

"Shut up" Neji snapped at him. Nobody else said anything. They looked a little awkward. Lee didn't let the dreary attitude of his companions weigh him down, at least he knew the importance of appreciating youth. It was his teacher Gai who had taught him his wisdoms. Dinner passed in this manner. Either Sasuke or Neji would snap at anyone who behaved beyond their limits of approval. Both of hem were similar in that they hated this trip and had their moods heavily influenced by this. Kiba cleared his throat. He gave them an excited but nervous smile.

"So... I've had a revelation." The group of friends directed their attention to him.

"Do share with us, my youthful companion!" Lee burst out in anticipation. Kiba looked at him with a classic 'wtf' look. The rest weren't as excited as Lee for Kiba's 'revelation'. Knowing him, it probably just have something to do with dogs. Kiba took a breath.

"I'm bisexual." He said with a slight smile. There was a moment of silence.

"You're what?"

"Is this a joke imbecile?"

"Eeeeeeeeeeh?!"

"…"

"My youthful tears are running freely because I'm so moved by your youthful trust in your friends"

"Didn't see that one coming, eh Shikamaru?"

"It's true... I figured it out this weekend... WHY else would I think Itachi is HOT, Sasuke. I think he's HOT on like SEX GOD level." Kiba answered. Sasuke's eye twitched.

"What?" He spat.

"I want to HAVE SEX WITH YOUR BROTHER" Kiba explained. Sasuke felt a vein pop. While Naruto was surprised at Kiba's sudden confession he tried to contain his laugher at Sasuke's reaction. He had a really funny look on his face. Like he was angry and horrified and tired, but still surprised and confused.

"You IMBECILE." Neji glared at Kiba. Sasuke's angry outburst was interrupted, good news to the occupants of the room.

"huh?" Kiba said.

"Have some decency." Neji scolded. Kiba rolled his eyes.

"Come on, we're all dudes here, no reason to keep it proper" He said with a grin. Naruto looked at him. Kiba was brave. To come out just like that... Naruto gulped. Would this be a good time for him to...? Maybe he should... Nobody had really been upset by it... Should he..? Naruto frowned as his thoughts went on a rollercoaster. Sasuke, who had calmed down, noticed this.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly, to not attract the attention of the rest of the room. Naruto jumped.

"Oh... Uh... I... ehm..." Naruto managed to say. Sasuke frowned.

"Are you okay? What is it, tell me" He said with concern and put a hand on his shoulder. Naruto looked at him nervously and gulped. Damn. Sasuke had one of his mood swings again into kind and caring Sasuke. It was difficult to refuse this side of him because it melted his freaking heart every time. Naruto gulped. What should he do..? If he could just tell them like Kiba did. If he could just tell Sasuke... He started to feel tired of his own hesitation and lack of bravery. He had always been honest and straightforward, it wasn't like him to hide. Meanwhile Sasuke continued to watch him. It seemed to him that Naruto was having an internal battle. He wondered if he was too pressuring with his concern.

"Sasuke..." Naruto said. Sasuke nodded, urging him to continue. "They're staring at us" Naruto revealed. Sasuke blinked. What? He looked at his friends. Oh yes, they were staring. They had been staring at him staring at Naruto. Sasuke cleared his throat.

"Everything ok over there?" Kiba asked him with a grin.

"Yeah, of course" Sasuke said. Naruto felt embarrassed. He needed to be alone with Sasuke, if not everyone would realise he was crushing on him by the look of his eyes. Suddenly there was a knocking on their door. The boys turned to each other in a silent battle for who was to open it. Nobody really felt like going.

"Naruto is the youngest" Chouji said.

"It's decided then" Kiba declared. "You go open, Naruto" He ordered. Naruto sighed and left. He would get back at them. When he opened the door he met Ino and Sakura. They looked a bit surprised to see him, but quickly remembered their purpose for coming. The forced their way inside.

"Sasuke!" Sakura said. "We thought we should come visit you" She added. Sasuke felt tired. He had had enough of those two for one day.

"How lovely to see you, Sakura! As beautiful as a flower like always!" Lee jumped up from his seat. Sakura flinched. She hadn't expected _him_ to be here.

"Tenten" Neji uttered callously. Lee twitched and sat down again. It was complicated.

"Anyways... Do you want to go for a walk with us, Sasuke?" Ino asked, looking hopeful. Sasuke could tell that they had tried their best to look good. But still. He did not want to get another headache.

"I'm busy, we are having a guys' night" Sasuke said. He inwardly grimaced. He sounded uncool. He _knew_ he did. He was supposed to be the loner Sasuke, not the 'guys' night' Sasuke.

"Oh..." They looked down sadly.

"… Maybe next time?" Sakura asked.

"… Maybe" Sasuke said with no intention of letting that happen.

"Bye then..." They said and walked away with hanging heads. The boys looked after them. Sasuke sighed.

"Why don't you get together with one of them?" Kiba asked. Naruto's eyes perched. This was an interesting topic.

"They give me a headache. Besides, they don't even like me... They just idolize me." Sasuke explained.

"Women are troublesome" Shikamaru added. Sasuke nodded. They really were.

"Don't tell me you're gay? Kiba asked. Shikamaru shook his head.

"I wouldn't be suffering if I was. Women are bothersome, troublesome, scary... Who'd want that? But I've got no choice, do I?" Shikamaru said sounding slightly annoyed. The others, except for Chouji, didn't know whether to be concerned or amused.

"I feel sorry for you man... I mean, I think they are scary too sometimes... But..." Kiba tried to show his sympathy.

"You are sorry excuses for men. Men should bear no fears, you nitwits" Neji reprimanded them. Naruto dropped a sweat. He didn't understand what went on in Neji's head. His attacks came suddenly, then he was quiet. Suddenly, he would appear again. Naruto shrugged. Shikamaru just leaned back in his chair while Kiba glared at Neji.

…

"Che, where has Sasuke gone?" A group of girls were searching for him. It was the day after the students' arrival and they had been assigned to different places in the village they were staying at to work. The group of girls had like Sasuke been positioned at a farm and were now looking for him. They were not the only ones. Naruto was supposed to be with Sasuke, but he couldn't find him anywhere. He sighed and scratched his head. If he was Shikamaru he would definitely call this troublesome. Luckily, he wasn't so he decided to be positive about this. Not being with Sasuke would help him concentrate on working, which was what he was there to do. He decided to go clean the stables. When Naruto was walking to get the broom he was abruptly pulled behind a corner and a hand was put over his mouth. He widened his eyes. It was Sasuke.

"I'm hiding" Sasuke explained and freed Naruto. Naruto nodded.

"I don't know how you managed to get that many girls after you" Naruto sighed. Though it wasn't like he didn't understand them. Sasuke was effortlessly stunning.

"I didn't do anything." Sasuke muttered. He looked at his new company. Naruto was wearing light blue jeans, a black long sleeved tee... Wait what? Black.. long sleeved... tee. That wasn't Itachi's, was it?

"Are you wearing Itachi's shirt?" Sasuke asked suspiciously and squinted his eyes. Naruto laughed slightly.

"Yeah, he gave it to me and said that people grow closer together if they wear each others clothes. It kinda makes sense, don't you think?" Naruto answered and leaned against the wall. Sasuke was dumbfounded. Itachi had done that? Said that? He sighed. He was jealous... due to a shirt. He sort of wished it was his own shirt Naruto was wearing, not Itachi's. He took another good look at Naruto, this time zooming in on his face

"… You're beautiful..." Sasuke said and stroke Naruto's cheek. Naruto blushed in surprise. "How is it possible? How can you make me into such a sap..?" Sasuke asked softly. Naruto's blush intensified. And here came the mood swing. It was almost funny, really. If not for the fact that it was totally embarrassing and perfect. Sasuke looked at the blushing cuteness in front of him. He remembered his vow to do what he wanted. He tilted Naruto's chin up to make their eyes meet.

"Sasuke...?" Naruto was confused. Would this turn into SasuNaru kiss, the sequel? He gulped. He hoped so.

"Naruto I..." Sasuke stopped himself. If he said too much he risked scaring Naruto away. He didn't want that. Naruto looked up at Sasuke. He looked troubled. Somehow Naruto thought that this would be a good time to reveal the truth.

"I have to tell you something" Naruto hesitantly said. Sasuke got pulled from his debating.

"I... I'm not entirely straight... or more like... not at all..." Naruto said while frowning at the ground. This was difficult, and embarrassing... Naruto felt a lump in his throat. How would Sasuke react? Maybe he would say 'yeah, same here.' or... 'that kiss was a mistake'...or 'goodbye'. Naruto tried to remind himself to be positive. Meanwhile, Sasuke was a bit bug eyed. He was shocked at he confession but wasn't this perfect? If Naruto liked guys, Sasuke was probably irresistible to him. Therfore, he wouldn't be upset if Sasuke made some moves on him.

"Great" Sasuke smiled before he cupped Naruto's face with his hands and kissed him. Naruto blinked in surprise. This was different from their previous kiss. That one had come slowly. This was a surprise. Naruto closed his eyes. A very _good_ surprise. He liked this assertive side of Sasuke. Naruto felt encouraged by Sasuke's reaction and put his hand around Sasuke's neck. It felt like the right thing to do. He needed to be closer. Sasuke moved his hands from Naruto's face and shifted one to the back of his neck and the other around Naruto's waist. Naruto answered with a slight moan. When they parted for air Naruto pantingly looked at Sasuke. Sasuke looked back at him. He felt... happy. Really happy. He leant down to give Naruto a softer kiss when Naruto stopped him with a finger on his lips. Sasuke frowned. Naruto giggled a bit at Sasuke's pouty face.

"What if somebody finds us?" Naruto whispered to remind Sasuke about the fact that his fan girls could come in any second. Sasuke smirked.

"So what?" He asked teasingly. Naruto smiled. This was too great... But they still needed to talk. This was what Naruto had waited for, but they needed to talk. In order to know what this meant.

"Besides, we need to talk about this." Naruto said and bit his lip unsurely. What if Sasuke kissed him just for the heck of it? That seemed unlikely but still, Naruto wanted to be on the safe side. Sasuke sighed and leant on the wall with his hands on either side of Naruto.

"Actions speak more than words" He answered suggestively. Naruto gave him a look. Sasuke sighed. "You're adorable. What more can I say?"

"Why did you kiss me?" Naruto asked.

"I wanted to." Sasuked answered.

"… Why?" Naruto said. "Do you like me or... are you just curious or..?" Naruto asked. Sasuke pursed his lips.

"… I always saw you as a pet, Naruto" Sasuke started.

"WHAT?!" Naruto interjected. He gave Sasuke and incredulous look. Was he serious? How was he supposed to react to _that_.

"BUT... I became unsure..." Sasuke continued. Naruto lifted his eyes to meet Sasuke. "But I think I'm sure now. You're the only one... I feel like this for. It might sound stupid, we haven't known each other for long but, but... But I really _love_ you" Sasuke said seriously. Naruto looked up at him. '...love'

.

love

.

Was a big word for Naruto. He didn't know love. Nobody had ever loved him. He had no idea how it felt. He didn't know how to react. What was love? Did he love Sasuke? How could he tell? The change inside of Naruto came suddenly, and it felt like a bucket of icey water had been poured over him.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sasuke asked with a worried frown.

"Huh, what?" Naruto asked weakly.

"You're crying" Sasuke said softly. Naruto widened his eyes in surprise. With a trembling hand he reached for his cheek. He could indeed feel wetness. Naruto hadn't even realised he had started crying. He didn't sob or anything... The tears just flooded down. Naruto blinked.

"I can't stop..." Naruto whispered. Sasuke frowned. Had he said something wrong? He couldn't figure out what might have been a bad thing to say.

"I... I... don't... I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT LOVE IS SASUKE" Naruto cried. He felt an ache rise in his heart.

.

love

.

It amazed Naruto but confused him at the same time. It was such a foreign concept. He didn't feel ready. Sasuke looked surprised at Naruto's sudden outburst. Naruto broke away from Sasuke. He needed distance. He needed to think. He couldn't _think_.

"Naruto what's wrong?" Sasuke asked. Naruto looked at him with wide eyes.

_"A demon like you isn't capable of loving anyone."_

Naruto's breath hitched as he heard the voice of a familiar memory.

.

love

.

It was too intense. Too out of reach. Too forbidden. Too precious. Naruto bit his lip as his tears streamed freely.

"I can't Sasuke. I can't love anyone" Naruto said with a pained voice. Sasuke scowled.

"Of course you can... Is this your way of rejecting me? Even though you were so eager in that kiss?" Sasuke growled. Naruto wringed his hands.

"N-No I just... I can't" Naruto whispered. Sasuke turned his face away.

"I get it, this was some kind of plan to make yourself popular by using me?" Sasuke spat.

"What? Are you even listening to yourself Sasuke?" Naruto asked, slightly horrified. He kept wringing his hands while trying to maintain a steady breath.

"YOU'RE telling me that?!" Sasuke asked. "Just GO. I don't want to see you right now" Sasuke said angrily. This rejection was a harsh blow... He didn't know what to think. He had felt so sure that Naruto had felt the same. If not, why kiss him back? It must have been his plan. This whole damn thing must've been a stupid plan and Sasuke felt stupid for even believing that somebody would like him for some other reason than gaining status. Naruto gulped. Why was this happening? His hands were shaking. This couldn't be happening. Everything had been perfect but now it was falling apart.

_"Nobody can love a filthy monster like you"_

Naruto put his hands over his ears. The memory was so vivid. The words still so hurtful. The pain was still so strong. He felt so overwhelmed, it had come so suddenly and forcefully to play with his mind. Naruto's feet began to move towards the exit without him really registering what was going on. He was in turmoil. Sasuke didn't look as Naruto stumbled out. He kicked the wall. He had left himself bare and for what? To be brutally rejected by that stupid puppykitten. Sasuke ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath. Brutally? Had it really been that bad? He leaned against the wall. Naruto had said that he couldn't love him. Sasuke slid down against the wall. Naruto had looked so confused. Sasuke buried his head in his hands. 'I don't know what love is' Naruto had said. Sasuke looked up. Naruto didn't know what love was. Sasuke bit his lip harshly. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fucking shit. Sasuke clenched his fist and punched the wall.

"DAMMIT... !" Sasuke yelled at it. Though it was really more towards himself. "WHY DO I ALWAYS FUCK UP?!" He shouted. He punched the wall again, causing his knuckles to bleed. "FUCKING SHIT" He yelled as he angrily kicked the poor wall. He needed to find Naruto. He had been an idiot. AGAIN. How immature could he get? With a guilty scowl Sasuke stormed out of the stable. It looked like the sky would also be storming soon.

…

"Kiba" Neji said while he was raking leaves. Kiba paused and looked at him.

"Yeah?" He said with a smile.

"Were you serious last night?" Neji asked while stubbornly gathering leaves in a pile.

"About me being bi?" Kiba asked. Neji nodded. "Yeah, but you can't tell me that you didn't see it coming at all?" Kiba said. Neji sighed.

"Whatever. Just keep you paws of my cousin" Neji ordered. "And don't slack off" Neji scolded. Kiba sighed.

"But we have done this for like hours..."

"Maybe it would take less time if you didn't slack off all the time" Neji suggested. Kiba suddenly noticed the lack of insulting words.

"Are you ok?" He asked with an arched brow.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Neji sighed.

"You're not mean" Kiba explained.

"You _want_ me to be mean to you?" Neji scoffed. "You're such a masochist" He added.

"What? No I'm not!" Kiba objected.

"I bet you want to be dominated in bed" Neji teased. Kiba opened and shut his mouth.

"Uh..?" He made a confused noise. Neji blanched and put his energy on raking leaves. Suddenly the tension between them turned awkward again. They kept working in silence, figuring that it was for the best like that.

…

Naruto leaned against the wall outside the back of the stable. His head was spinning. He felt sick, almost as if he needed to throw up. What had happened just now? Naruto couldn't understand why he was reacting like this. Shouldn't he be happy, thrilled over Sasuke's confession? Instead he was behaving like this. What he had heard was good news, so why was he panicking? Why was he feeling sick? Why was he mortified? Naruto grabbed a fistful of his hair. He just didn't get it. His other hand went to his chest. Naruto tried to calm his breathing.

_"you can never be loved"_

Naruto shut his eyes. He didn't understand what love was... It was something that didn't belong to him... And now he had made Sasuke hate him. Sasuke didn't want to see him anymore.

_"you are an unwanted existence. It would have been best if you had never existed."_

Naruto stared at the ground in front of him. Rain was forming puddles. Why did it hurt so much to be alive? Even though he should be used to the pain already... Naruto suddenly felt tired. He looked as the tiny droplets made rings in the water. Naruto wasn't a raindrop. If he fell into a puddle, it wouldn't take him in. It would reject him. Naruto looked up at the sky through half lidded eyes. He was tired of everything being so complicated. _Would it ever end_? What was the point of existing? Naruto couldn't _love_. He was a useless existence. He couldn't become a raindrop. He had always been oil, unable to mix with the puddle around him. Naruto bitterly clenched his teeth as more tear drops fell.

"NARUTO!" His eyes widened at the sound and suddenly he found himself in an embrace. "I'm so sorry Naruto" Sasuke apologised. "I'm sorry" Sasuke repeated in a whisper. Naruto swallowed. Sasuke loved him, but Naruto didn't know what that meant.

"Sasuke I..." Naruto paused. Sasuke shouldn't be the one to apologize. Naruto was the flawed one. He had never noticed how broken he was until he heard Sasuke say that he loved him. He had never realised. Now it seemed so obvious, like he should have seen it all along. "I'm the one who needs to apologize." Naruto whispered with a quivering voice. He put his arms around Sasuke who still embraced him so protectively. "I'm not good enough" Naruto confessed and felt more burning tears escape him.

"Don't be silly" Sasuke said reassuringly and patted Naruto's soaked head. Naruto distanced himself.

"You should go to someone else! Someone who's _able_ to love..." Naruto said sadly. Sasuke pursed his lips. He pulled Naruto back into the embrace.

"It doesn't work like that" Sasuke said hoarsely. "When you love someone, you never want to let them go" Sasuke explained quietly. Naruto blinked away some tears. "I'm really sorry for overwhelming you like that... I didn't think" Sasuke apologized. Sasuke had been careless, it hadn't occured to him at the time that love might be a foreign concept to Naruto. But Naruto had grown up without parents, and above that he had been shunned by most people. Naruto gently grabbed Sasuke's shirt. His grip tightened as the dull ache in his heart intensified.

"Sasuke I... I never realised how broken I was until you said that you love me" He whimpered into Sasuke's shirt. He pulled slightly on the fabric as he continued. "because even though I know I should be happy... This makes me want to throw up. I'm _broken_ Sasuke. A twisted person like me shouldn't even exist" Naruto said weakly. Sasuke felt a tear escape his eye.

"I want you even if you're twisted" Sasuke assured and tightened his grip on Naruto. Naruto took a deep breath. How could Sasuke be so amazing?

"I'm tired..." Naruto sighed. Sasuke patted his back.

"Let's go back to the cabin" He said and grabbed a hold of Naruto's hand. The small gesture made Naruto tear up more. Sasuke loved him. Was that why he was amazing?

…

When they got back to the cabin it seemed like everyone had already come back, seeing as their shoes were there. Sasuke sneaked Naruto up to their room without the rest noticing. Inside, he took a towel and began drying Naruto's hair. Naruto looked at the floor guiltily. He thought that Sasuke should take care of himself first. Sasuke grabbed some clothes that Naruto could wear. It reminded him of the time he had kidnapped Naruto from the school because he had been laying in the rain. Naruto had called him a molester that day. In hindsight, Sasuke understood why Naruto was always blushing. He liked guys, and Sasuke was Sasuke. He smiled sadly at the memory.

"Put this on" Sasuke said. He suddenly remembered what Naruto had said earlier. He had said that Itachi told him that people grow closer if they wear each other's clothes. That day, Naruto had worn his clothes. And they had grown close quickly. "I'll wait outside" Sasuke said as he thought about his memories and left the room. Naruto stared at the door. With a heavy sigh he began to change. Usually he would smile at being able to wear Sasuke's clothes... now he just felt tired and confused.

.

love

.

Was it really something to be happy about?

* * *

Ehm. Sorry for giving you an angsty mess again. I really loved writing it though. Music is my muse and it told me to be melodramatic. I liked that idea. Hope you did too. ;)

~LovePeppermint


	10. Chapter 10

Hey people, Peppermint is back! woo~~. On a more serious note, I apologise for leaving you hanging for so long. I couldn't write... In the beginning of july, both my precious dog and grandmother passed away so I was seriously not in the mood. And also, this chapter is possibly not as good as the last ones but... Next will be better. I promise.

* * *

"Gee, you look so cheerful" Kiba said sarcastically to Sasuke as they sat at the lunch table with the rest of their friends. Sasuke glared lightly at him. He understood Kiba's need to comment on this. He looked like a mess. He had massive bags under his eyes and felt about as happy as the grumpy cat.

"He's just upset that we barely had time to spend time together during the school trip" Sakura answered in his place with a small giggle while putting her had on Sasuke's shoulder. She had managed to make herself believe in this statement. Ino just shook her head at her friend. Sometimes Sakura was even more delusional than her.

"I just had a hard time falling asleep." Sasuke explained, ignoring Sakura's comment. He just didn't have the energy right now. Kiba raised a brow. It felt to him as if Sasuke was troubled by something. The group ,after a while, noticed the lack of impeccable insults.

"… Neji hasn't hung out with us much these last few days" Ino sighed. Neji had indeed been dissing them. They had returned 3 days ago and he had taken to eating with Lee instead.

"We prolly just pissed him off again... you know how he always walks off for stupid reasons" Kiba reassured. They continued talking about something, but Sasuke didn't listen. He involuntarily tuned out his friends. The last few days had been awkward. Naruto had been awkward. Or was it Sasuke? Both? Naruto had been acting like a freaking energizer bunny and honestly, Sasuke found that very odd. Because they had been though a dramatic, emotional experience that should have brought them closer to each other. And Naruto had seemed so fragile... But Naruto didn't speak about it, he didn't even look as if the memory of that even crossed his mind. Sasuke felt slightly peeved at the fact that it was only him that had seen that confession as something significant to them. So Sasuke had been losing sleep. He didn't know if it was adrenaline or something that kept him awake, but whatever it was, it was also annoying him.

Meanwhile, on the roof.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuufhkjseng shriiwwet" Naruto angrily growled. Shikamaru tsked. Choji just shook his head. Naruto was so unskilled. You needed a certain finesse to eat with your mouth full and Naruto obviously did not possess this. Nobody dignified Naruto's incomprehensible comment with an answer. He had been like this ever since the school trip, so they weren't surprised.

"Ishrr llaovwe rweealshy shro imporshnat?" Naruto asked his friends grumpily. Shikamaru sighed.

"If you're gonna talk, do it when you're not chewing." He tiredly adviced. Naruto quickly swallowed.

"Is love really that impoertant?" Naruto repeated while wiping his mouth.

"You always like to have deep conversations, don't you?" Choji said Naruto. Naruto frowned slightly. Did he really do it that frequently?

"Whatever, just tell me. Is it really a huge big deal... Like necessary. Is it even possible for everyone to love or is it just a myth? Is love just a myth...? I don't know, I seriously have no idea what to do. I mean, we barely even know each other and.. and GAHHH" Naruto blabbered with wild gestures. Shikamaru pondered a bit.

"Love is just some troublesome thing, why do you feel so concerned suddenly?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto gulped and looked at the floor. He then looked up with a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head.

"Well I sort of got confessed to" Naruto revealed, his smile turning slightly sad. Shikamaru frowned lightly. "But... I just freaked out because I... I don't really get what it is... love" Naruto almost muttered that last word bitterly. Shikamaru nodded in understanding. He had a feeling Naruto's lack of understanding of love wasn't rooted in some angsty teen issues, it was probably more related to his lonely upbringing more than some philosophical reason. Naruto lay down to look at the sky. He gave a deep sigh and looked contemplative.

"Love is warm and nice. And safe. That kind of feeling" Choji supplied curtly. He thought of his atmosphere at home. Those words were the best he could use to describe the love there. Naruto pursed his lips in thought. He did feel warm and fuzzy with Sasuke.

"People need a strong bond to love each other. They need time and experience, so stop moping about troublesome stuff. Just get to know the guy and see what happens." Shikamaru drably explained. Naruto looked at him almost as if god had spoken.

"you say some helpful stuff sometimes" Naruto smiled and punched Shikamaru lightly in the shoulder.

"yeah, whatever" Shikamaru said, looking slightly annoyed, Naruto knew that he wasn't really annoyed. It was just Shikamaru's thing to be like that, he supposed. Wait... Shikamaru said 'just get to know the guy. 'the guy'. 'the GUY'. '**GUY**'. Naruto went bugeyed. How the freaking flying fuck did he know that Naruto was gay? Naruto gulped and laughed nervously. He glanced at his two friends. Choji was munching on chips and Shikamaru was looking at the clouds. Did they know? Did they? Naruto decided not to ask. He wanted to avoid the awkward.

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Sasuke and Naruto were driving home together, as Naruto had already moved in permanently at the Uchiha resident. Mikoto had done a lot of discussions at the orphanage to make this a quick painful process. Rumor has it that a large sum of money was transferred, but that could easily be nothing more than plain speculations by some bored kids at the Haven. Naruto really liked his new room. He had only had it for two days, but he still felt at home there. One of the walls was even orange! How Mikoto knew that orange was his favourite colour, Naruto did not know. He really liked it. He was almost doubting the reality of the situation. This was sort of too good to be true, well at least now that Fugaku was who knows where doing who knows what. Naruto shrugged. Maybe the Uchiha's had a violent gene, causing their normally calm persona to turn into a power hungry beast. Meanwhile, Sasuke glanced over at Naruto. He was biting his lower lip lightly and looked deep in thought with the wind calmly gracing his hair, causing it to quiver. He really liked Naruto's hair. It was rare to have blonde hair. Naruto and Ino were the only blondes Sasuke knew. Naruto's was a different shade from her's, though. Ino had something of a light ash blonde while Naruto had a light golden nuance. And Naruto also had those sapphire eyes... He shook his head. Sasuke forced the thoughts out of his head. He did not want to be a sappy chappy, and besides. Naruto didn't like him in _that_ way. Sasuke had made that conclusion after lunch. Even if someone doesn't know what love is, they should still feel _something_. Naruto should be able to feel something, right? And if he did, wouldn't he have said so after Sasuke's confession?

It was no surprise that the boys ended up coming home having spent the entire drive in silence.

"I WAKE UP EVERY EVENING, WITH A BIG SMILE ON MY FACE" Naruto and Sasuke abruptly stopped at the door. A loud voice was traveling from upstairs. Deidara's voice to be more exact. Apparently he was in the middle of a concert up there. But, Deidara was a good singer so it wasn't an awful experience, just surprising. Naruto looked at Sasuke. Ok, Sasuke did look slightly annoyed, but Naruto figured it was because Sasuke didn't like loudness. Naruto inwardly thanked Iruka for making him more toned down. If he had hung out with Sasuke before that... Sasuke would have been pissed beyond measure... And yet he was friends with Kiba. Hmm. Deidara's singing continued as they walked up the stairs.

"WHEN YOU SEE MY FACE, HOPE IT GIVES YOU HELL. HOPE IT GIVES YOU HE~~LL" Naruto chuckled. He seemed to be having fun with Itachi, Naruto was surprised that Itachi wasn't like Sasuke and was bothered by-

"FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME... **S****HUT UP**" Naruto stopped in terror as an angry roar emerged from the door beside him and without a warning Deidara came flying at him and the door slammed. Naruto almost got Deidara's ponytail in his mouth. Three pairs of eyes stared at the door. Naruto gulped. It seemed like Itachi was every bit as bothered as Sasuke was.

"You fucking **TWAT**" Deidara yelled at the door and stormed off. Sasuke could only raise a brow in surprise. He did not even want to know.

"wanna hang out?" Naruto asked suddenly with a curious smile. He had Shikamaru's advice in mind and decided to just go with the flow. Go with the flow and get to know Sasuke. Sasuke overcame his initial surprise.

"of course" He replied with a smirk. Time to make some moves... Is what Sasuke had time to think, before remembering that he was going slow. He inwardly cussed as he followed Naruto to his room. Bloody brilliant, now he had to sit in the orange room... _And_ he had to lay low. He atleast tried not to look a that wall as they sat down on the couch. Naruto cleared his throat.

"Sasuke, it feels like we have known each other for a long time already... But we haven't. And really, we barely know anything about each other, right? So... Let's get to know each other more. I mean, we're even living together and all that shit." Naruto said with a smile. Sasuke meanwhile, suddenly noticed that Naruto hadn't really blushed for a while. Was he stopping that? Damn, it had been cute. Sasuke caught himself digressing.

"Yeah, you're right we should." Sasuke agreed.

"Good" Naruto said. Sasuke nodded. A minute passed.

"Um... So tell me about yourself" Naruto said. The air had become slightly thick already. They were feeling the _awkward_. Sasuke took a deep breath. What was there to say?

"Eh... I know martial arts" Sasuke managed. Not the most interesting thing he could have come up with but... Still. Naruto's mouth opened wide.

"Seriously? That's cool as hell!" Naruto exclaimed. He liked that kind of stuff. "What belt? And which martial art is it?" Naruto asked.

"Black, in karate" Sasuke answered.

"Sweet" Naruto replied.

"Your turn" Sasuke urged. Naruto made a thinking face. Sasuke felt impatient because he looked cuter than a freaking puppy like that. And he could do nothing. Just watch at Naruto's adorable concentrated face.

"I like Ramen." Naruto revealed.

"I already know that" Sasuke retorted. It would have been very difficult to miss.

"Eh..." Naruto sighed before thinking again. "I'm pretty good at graffiti..." Naruto sheepishly admitted. Sasuke dropped a sweat. The occasional graffiti he had seen over the years, had it been Naruto?

"Are you good at drawing as well?" Sasuke asked, he thought it was related. Naruto pursed his lips. Sasuke could only wonder what possessed him to do that. Was he _trying_ to get Sasuke to stare?

"I... guess?" Naruto said. He didn't really consider himself good, but meh, Deidara had always complimented him so he figured it was worth something seeing as Deidara was all 'Art bla, Art bla'. "Or that's what Deidara always said anyways... I think I'm normal. Sasuke was surprised. Deidara studied art, right?

"Show me sometime" Sasuke said. Normally he would care, but he was curious to see what Naruto would come up with.

"Sure" Naruto smiled. Silenece fell again. Was the sound of breathing always this loud? Sasuke wanted to ask Naruto about his parents, but wondered if that was a bad question. He also wondered what he should tell Naruto. He wondered if it was too soon to talk about the _incident_ six years ago.

"Ok, I've got a good one." Naruto revealed. "What are you the most scared of?" Naruto asked inquisitively. Sasuke frowned. He wasn't really afraid of things... There was only one thing that he feared.

"It's... A bit of heavy topic. Sure you wanna know?" Sasuke asked hesitantly. He seriously doubted if this was headed in a good direction. Naruto's face fell slightly, then he looked determined.

"Shoot" He said. "You can tell me whatever" Naruto's big blue eyes looked into Sasuke's onyx ones. Sasuke almost wished that Naruto would fool around a bit like he usually did, but he seemed to have an uncanny ability to be tactful at the right moments.

"Well... You asked for it... Sasuke started with a quiet sigh.

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Was that managable? I hope you enjoyed it a little bit at least, and again, I'm sorry for being late :/ Have a nice day, night or whatever it is when you're reading this :)

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LovePeppermint


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